A N B U
by dreamaker13
Summary: Being behind the mask has always been every shinobi's dream. But the mask cannot make you invincible. Life, love and emotions will never disappear. Your mask can only hide your expressions; tears. What does it really take to be part of the ANBU? Ch. 4 rev
1. Chapter one: Shikamaru

**A.N.B.U.**

by dreamaker13

_"No matter how much I try, the blood doesn't seem to come off."_

* * *

Chapter one: Shikamaru

* * *

The air was still and the moon was full. The silence was overbearing as the half-darkness filled their senses. The shadows were pitch black and the trees were dormant as if petrified by the tension building up in the atmosphere.

They waited. Their black cloaks effectively camouflaging them within the looming shadows. Their black hoods covering the white ceramic colour of their masks. Breathing was shallow and every muscle was tense, awaiting the signal of their strike.

_"Point three had just been passed. Target approaching point four."_

The message slid in his ear as a smooth whisper. It was loud enough to be heard accurately but soft enough to be concealed from the outside. He remained unmoving as he stated his command.

"Target to point four. Sasuke, Megitsune, in position."

_"Aa."_

_"Uruse. (Shut up)"_

"Oi, ba-"

_"Target at point four."_

"Yoshi. Ikuze. (Let's go)"

Seconds after the exchange, their attention was turned to the rustling of the bushes on one side of the clearing. A cold wind blew and more rustling was heard. The tense atmosphere grew thicker and thicker as the sounds of the bushes became louder and louder. Almost an eternity had passed before the rustling stopped.

Sweat trickled down his neck as he waited in anticipation for their next move. _Here they come_ he thought to himself just as four figures leaped out of the bushes and into the clearing. The four figures stopped in the middle of the clearing on high alert. He crouched down, hiding himself entirely from the enemy's view. _In ten seconds..._

_juu (10)..._

At that precise moment, kunai from every direction were thrown towards the centre of the clearing. All four leaped off in time, two went up into the trees while two stayed in the clearing. Silence was once again abundant as a cool night breeze blew.

_nana (7)..._

Both figures on the ground looked around, tense. Their eyes were shifting from right to left, searching each shadow for any sign of movement. Sensing none, one of them looked back only to find his teammate trembling and frozen to his spot.

_go (5)..._

"Oi! Doushita? (What's the matter?)" one of them cried to his teammate who had a haunted look on his face.

"T-T-Taichou (Captain)..." he was shaking more violently, sweat was trickling down his forehead, his eyes wide and were directed to the ground.

"Wha-" the captain's eyes widened when he saw what he did when he looked down at his teammates feet.

There were swarms of them pooled at his teammates feet, slowly making their way up his legs. His teammate started to frantically stomp his feet, trying to brush off the bugs that were ascending his body. "Get them off! Get them off of me! They're disgusting!" his teammate cried as the bugs made their way to his fingertips, steadily consuming his arms.

_san (3)..._

"Ta-Tasukete! Taichou, tasukete kore! (Help me, please!)"

Despite the frantic cries of his colleague, the captain stood his ground, his own body shaking, his own sweat dampening the cloth of the forehead protector he wore on his head.

"They're sucking...they're eating me alive! Help! Help me! Taich-..." his voice was muffled as the creatures got up to his face and slowly sucked him dry of his life.

_ichi (1)..._

The captain watched in horror as his teammate was consumed alive by the swarm of small creatures crawling up to his carcass. His fear had taken over him as he turned to run for his life but as he turned, he found out that he couldn't move. His whole body and his look of complete horror was frozen.

"Time's up..._taichou_."

Four black-cloaked figures stepped out form the shadows, surrounding him. One behind him, two at his left and right respectively both holding two of his - now dead - teammates and one in front of him. Their white ceramic-like masks easily visible in the darkness. His eyes, upon seeing the masks, widened as he conceived what the four were.

"A-ANBU..."

The masked figure in front of him - who had the mask of an eagle - raised both his arms and connected them at the fingertips over his head making a circle. "Maru. (Correct)"

The captain found himself mimicking the actions of the figure in front of him. He felt his mind detached from his body as his body moved out of its own accord. The captain gasped when he saw the symbol tattooed on the arm of his captor. _Konoha..._

"Now, taichou, give us back what you stole from us," at saying that, the masked figure tapped his right shoulder. Again, the captain mimicked the actions and felt the knot of the cloth that held the item they stole from Konoha.

"And another thing, when your teammate cries for help, it is your obligation as captain to respond to that cry and do what you can to save him even if it means your death. Wakatta? (Understand?)" the captain cocked his head to the side as the masked figure did so. The eagle-like mask was the last thing he saw before...

"Sasuke."

_Woosh!_

Shikamaru released his juutsu on the dead captain before taking his mask off and sighing. He looked at the dead body with bored eyes. "Che, mendoukusai na."

"Aah, mou! This guy's so heavy, datte ba yo!" Naruto said throwing the dead corpse he had been carrying on the floor with a violent thud. He took off his mask and wiped the sweat off his brow. Naruto looked at the unmoving captain - now with a kunai impaled painfully on the side of his neck - curiously. "There's nothing more annoying than a guy who won't even save his teammate. Oi, Sasuke, are you sure that guy's dead?"

The figure with a tiger mask took his mask off. "Mochiron, dobe. I've hit his pulse point. I cut the circulation to his head and his wind pipe. Of course he's dead, baka."

"Che," Naruto spat as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away in annoyance. "Then again I may be wrong," he muttered to himself.

"Naruto," Naruto stood straight hearing their leader's commanding tone. "Patrol the vicinity for any incoming squads."

"Hai," Naruto placed his mask back on and leaped out of sight.

"Sasuke, check the retrieved item. Check for authenticity and pitfalls."

"Aa." was Sasuke's simple answer as he took the item from the captain's make-shift pack.

"Shino," Shikamaru turned towards the figure with a mask that had a resemblance to an ant. Shikamaru paused as he thought of what to order him to do. He looked down at the ground and back up at Shino. "Collect your bugs."

Without a response, Shino watched as Shikamaru walked away for a few paces before their leader turned back to his team.

"Meet at the entrance in one eighty seconds." Shikamaru then leaped out of sight.

Naruto, coming back from patrolling and hearing the command, looked at his fingers then at Shino. "How long is that?"

"Three minutes," Shino simply said, his mask still intact.

"Che," Naruto spat in annoyance. "Why can't he just say 'three minutes' like everybody else?"

x x x

"I'm hungry, datte ba yo," Naruto placed a hand on his stomach when a loud growling noise erupted from it. "Ne, let's go to Ichiraku for dinner."

His three other teammates didn't respond at his suggestion. They just kept walking down the busy street dressed in their everyday clothes and with their sling bags containing their ANBU uniforms over their shoulders. Another loud growl was heard from Naruto's stomach, making Naruto blush bright red while clutching his stomach. His three teammates stopped walking and looked back at Naruto with sweatdrops.

Naruto cracked. "Mou! Let's eat somewhere already. I won't last much longer! Mou!"

"Baka," Sasuke muttered as he walked on.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme," Naruto cried out, obviously hearing the muttered insult. "Where are you going?"

"The hospital," was Sasuke's simple answer as he walked on without looking back.

"Hospital? What for? You don't look wounded or anything," Naruto said, looking at Sasuke curiously.

"Sakura, baka," Sasuke said, pausing to toss the answer over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

"Che," Naruto spat out as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know how Sakura could live with that baka-yarou."

"Mendoukusai na," was Shikamaru's usual reply.

"Ne, ne, Shikamaru," Naruto came up to Shikamaru with his sly fox grin. "Want to go to Ichiraku? My treat."

"Heh, baka. Knowing you, you'll just skip out on the bill and leave me to pay for it," Shikamaru said, turning his head away from Naruto and walking forward. "I'm tired of ramen anyway."

With a short wave, Shikamaru weaved his way through the crowd. As he steadily walked away from his two other teammates, he could hear Naruto's faint cry of, "Aaah, Mou!"

At that Shikamaru gave a heavy sigh. "Ba-ka."

Shikamaru walked on through the busy district of Konoha, ignoring the advertisements being cried out by various people in front of various shop. One shop however caught Shikamaru's bored gaze. Without hesitation, the ANBU squad leader entered the shop.

"Irasshaimase (Welcome)," cried the host when he heard Shikamaru come in.

"Konbanwa, ji-san. Is it finished yet," Shikamaru asked, looking at the expensive contents in the shop with a bored gaze.

"Ah, gomen, Shikamaru-san. I'm afraid it's not done yet," answered the shop owner with an apologetic smile.

"Hn? I asked for that about two weeks ago already," complained Shikamaru, his gaze falling on the shop owner.

"Well, my daughter got sick and had to be in the hospital for a few days and I had to pay for the hospital fee. My son could have done it but he just got married so he's on his honeymoon," the shop owner scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Plus, orders have been piling up. I'm really sorry, Shikamaru-san. If you want I could give you a discount for-"

"Iie, never mind." Shikamaru turned around and started for the door. "Thanks anyway, ji-san."

"Mata okoshi kudasai (Please come again)," the shop owner cried out behind him as Shikamaru stepped out of the shop.

Upon stepping back onto the crowded street, Shikamaru took a glance at his wrist watch and cursed, "Kuso!" before running off, weaving through the crowd before the got fed up and started jumping from roof to roof.

x x x

_DING DONG!_

Ino looked up from chopping the vegetables when she heard the faint sound of the doorbell.

_DING DONG!_

It went again. Ino put the knife down, turned the heat of the stove to low and went to answer the door.

_DING DONG!_

"I'm coming," Ino cried out, as she momentarily checked her appearance in the mirror and taking her apron off while wiping her hands on the fabric. Smoothing out any wrinkles on her dress with her hands, Ino opened the door to find a panting Shikamaru with his left hand leaning on the doorframe for support and his right hand holding the string of his sling bag over his shoulder.

"Shikamaru," Ino said with mild surprise at his state of being as she stepped aside to let him in.

As Shikamaru entered the house, he dropped his sling bag on the floor of the living room and collapsed on the couch with a tired sigh.

"Mou, Shikamaru," Ino said, a small frown on her face. "Just now? You're thirty minutes late." Ino looked at her wrist watch with her frown still intact.

"Maa maa," Shikamaru said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm here now, aren't I?" Shikamaru then laid his head on the back of the couch.

"Demo, Shikamaru, you could be on time at least once," Ino walked over to Shikamaru, just close enough to tower over his tired form. She stooped down to tug at his shirt. "And you didn't even bother to chan-" Ino gasped when Shikamaru pulled her onto the couch.

"Warui ne," Shikamaru whispered as he touched his nose with hers. Ino blushed when Shikamaru nipped at her neck then eagerly placed butterfly kisses down to where her low cut neckline mildly exposed the side of her breasts.

"S-Sou na, Sh-Shika-maru," Ino faltered as Shikamaru's hands trailed up her leg exposed by the long slit of her dress. "Th-This isn't...f-fair." With that last form of rebellion, her one hand clutched the shirt of the ANBU squad leader and the other let his long black tresses flow out from his hair tie.

Feeling his hair loosen, Shikamaru surfaced from his girlfriend's chest and went up to kiss her feverishly on her red, made-up lips. As a reply, Ino wrapped her arms around his waist and proceeded to slowly lift Shikamaru's shirt.

Ino had had exposed half of Shikamaru's torso and his hand was half-way in Ino's underwear when a high-pitched whistle blew. Upon hearing the whistle, Shikamaru's whole body tensed. He broke his and Ino's kiss and scanned the room with his dark glare, his free hand going into his pocket for a shuriken.

"Shimatta, the food!" Ino gasped, slid out from underneath Shikamaru and darted into the kitchen while tugging her dress down. At that, Shikamaru's glare turned into dumbfounded look before turning into a look of frustration.

"Troublesome food!"

"Shikamaru!" Ino called out from the kitchen.

"Hm?" Shikamaru answered lazily as he tugged down his shirt and sat on the couch.

"Don't just laze about, come help me in the kitchen."

"Ha? Doushite," Shikamaru replied as he kept his head on the back of the couch.

"Because you were late so this is your punishment."

"Heh, if you want punishment, let's take it into the bedroom and-" Shikamaru's mumbling was cut off by Ino's threat.

"Shikamaru! If you don't come in here in five seconds, you can go back home and get reacquainted with your hand!"

"Che," Shikamaru spat out as he stood up. "Mendoukusai no onna. (Troublesome woman)"

"Go (5)!"

"Hai, hai. I'm coming," Shikamaru said as he trudged on to the kitchen.

The first thing Shikamaru noticed upon arriving at the kitchen door was how cute Ino's butt moved as she chopped and stirred. Shikamaru smirked at the sight and advanced slowly towards his girlfriend, his hand poised to caress her backside.

"Here you go."

Shikamaru stopped and looked at the chunk of red meat presented in front of him. "Nani...kore?"

"What do you mean, 'What's this'? It's beef," Ino said, holding up the chopping board with the red meat higher.

"That's not beef. Beef is brown and juicy," Shikamaru looked at the red meat once more. "That's nowhere near what beef looks like."

"It's raw beef, baka," Ino said placing the chopping board on Shikamaru's hands.

Shikamaru swallowed noisily as he looked at the meat then at Ino. "W-What do you want me to do with this?"

Ino went to the counter and drew out a large chef's knife and handed it to Shikamaru. "I want you to cut it into discs."

"Discs?" Shikamaru asked, an eyebrow up as he looked at the red meat.

"Aa. You've seen steaks, ne?" Shikamaru nodded. "Well, I want you to cut the meat so that they would look like steaks. We're having steaks for dinner." With that, Ino left him alone.

Shikamaru, with a few small complaints, placed the meat on the counter with the chopping board and proceeded to chop the meat into steaks. A few minutes later, Shikamaru inspected his work. He held one steak up with his free hand and looked at it from all angles. One thing caught his attention...

Shikamaru's darks eyes watched as a drop of blood made its way down the piece of meat.

_"Wakatta?...Sasuke."_

Whoosh!

_Clang!_

"Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru snapped out with a gasp and was breathing heavily. He looked at the counter where the steaks and the chef's knife was littered. He then looked at his hands. His eyes widened at the bloody state of his fingers and palms.

"Shikamaru? Daijoubu (Are you alright?)," Shikamaru turned his head to the left as Ino walked towards where he was. "Ara, you're done."

Shikamaru looked from his girlfriend to the bloodied counter. "Hn."

"Yoshi! I'll just mount them on the grill and then we'd be ready to eat," Ino said as she carried the meat towards the stove. "Ne, Shikamaru, go wash your hands then set the table, onegai (please)?"

Without a reply, Shikamaru turned the tap in the kitchen on and placed his bloody hands under the running water. Shikamaru stared blankly as the blood was washed down from his hands down the drain...

_"Ta-Tasukete! Taichou, tasukete kore!"_

"Shikamaru, do you mind if I make the steaks a bit rare?"

"Hn," was Shikamaru's answer, not really hearing the question.

_"They're sucking...they're eating me alive! Help! Help me! Taich-"_

"Shikamaru, could you set the table? The steaks are almost done. Oh, and remember to bring out the forks and knives. We're not using the chopsticks tonight."

"Aa," was Shikamaru's curt reply as he turned the tap off and gingerly wiped his hands on a paper towel before proceeding to set the table.

x x x

"And then Chouji started bloating himself up saying that we should shoot the thing out of his throat. We tried to squeeze the air out but he ended up inflating and inflating that he went rolling around Konoha the whole afternoon," Ino said as she went into another fit of laughs. Shikamaru joined her, clutching his stomach.

"Anou baka," Shikamaru exclaimed, making the couple laugh harder. "I could see that he hasn't changed at all."

"Aa."

Shikamaru sank his fork on the beef as he used his knife to cut the meat. After making the cut, Shikamaru froze, looking at his stake.

Ino took a sip of her wine to calm her down then she noticed Shikamaru grow tense. "Shikamaru, what's wrong?"

Shikamaru stared at the blood that oozed out of his steak...

_"Ta-Tasukete! Taichou, tasukete kore!"_

_"They're sucking...they're eating me alive! Help! Help me!"_

_"Oi...are you sure that guy's dead?"_

_"Mochiron..."_

_"Sasuke."_

_Whoosh!_

"Shikamaru!" Ino cried as the ANBU squad leader swiftly stood up, knocking down his glass of wine on the table.

Shikamaru walked away from the table, his form shaking and his hands on his head. He was whispering, "Stop. Please make it stop."

"Shikamaru, nani-"

"Don't come near me!" Shikamaru cried as he turned his back to Ino who stood up from the table to comfort him.

Ino took a few steps closer and extended her hand. "Shikama-"

"I said don't come near me, baka no onna!" Shikamaru quickly turned around, extending his arm out and hitting Ino's hand away from him.

Ino looked at Shikamaru with widened eyes as she cradled her hand on her chest.

"Shikamaru? Why are you acting like this," Ino asked, watching Shikamaru shake and mumble. "Calm down. Just calm down and we can celebrate our anniversary-"

"Anniversary?" Shikamaru said, his incoherent muttering halting to a stop and replaced by laughter. "Don't be a baka, Ino. We weren't even together for half of the year!"

"Shikamaru..."

"Or have you forgotten," Shikamaru said, walking towards Ino with a threatening gaze. "On and off, on and off, on and off was how we went through our relationship. For so long we were on and off and every time we would break up you would be with another man. Don't be naïve, Ino. This is just your childish way to preserve your purity!"

_Slap!_

"You ungrateful bastard!" Shikamaru had his head to the side, his eyes wide and his cheek burning from the strong slap. "I tried to live with you. I tried to stay with you. I believed that we would always be together no matter what the situation was. I tried to hold on to you, to keep you from leaving but I became tired of trying. I became tired of waiting for you, for us, to grow up. I tried to forget you. I tried to let you go...demo...every time I would close my eyes, your stubborn memories would surface back up!"

Shikamaru didn't face her. He hung his head low in shame as he stared at the wooden floor of the living room.

"And now, I cook, I dress up, I give some time for you because I want to tell you how much I've loved you for the past year and yet you can't even be on time or let alone compliment me! You even put the blame on me! If we're just going to be like this then maybe we should just stop trying!" Tears were now falling down Ino's cheeks, her chest heaving up and down, breathless.

"I," Shikamaru started, trying to find the right words to say. "I...made out with you."

"Baka! Is sex all you could think of?!"

"I said, made out not sex!"

"Ahou!" Ino cried out as she threw his sling bag towards him and opened the door. "Get out!"

_Slam!_

"Kuso!" Shikamaru kicked the door before turning to leave.

"Mou!" Ino cried out as she kicked the door before she ran into the couch and cried herself to sleep with the scent of Shikamaru enveloping her senses.

x x x

The water ran down full blast from the taps as Shikamaru placed his hands underneath the running water, rubbing the invisible dirt from his hands. "Come off, come off..."

_"Ta-Tasukete! Taichou, tasukete kore!...They're sucking...they're eating me alive!"_

_"Oi...are you sure that guy's dead?"_

_Whoosh!_

"Kuso!" Shikamaru cried out as he punched the tiled wall of his bathroom. Out of breath, he leaned his forehead on the cool glass of the mirror as his bare chest heaving up and down and his hair loose and wet from water and sweat.

As Shikamaru closed his fists, drops of tears splashed down onto the sink. Shikamaru trembled as he collapsed on the bathroom floor, hugging his torso as he sobbed.

"Tasukete...Ino, tasukete."

x x x

Naruto gulped down the remaining soup in the bowl before he puts the bowl down noisily on the table. He gives a sigh of satisfaction then holds up his bowl. "Okawari! (Seconds please)"

"Aa! Coming right up."

Naruto, still holding up his bowl, felt another presence in the stall. He looked to his right to find Shikamaru coming through the short cloth drapes of the stall.

"Ara, Shikamaru," Naruto placed his bowl down, still looking at his leader who sat down beside him with a heavy sigh as he buried his head in his arms. "Why are you here?"

"Tsk. Mind your own business, baka," was all Shikamaru said before he turned his head to look away from Naruto who scratched the side of his face with wonder.

"Hai, Naruto. Dozo," Ayame, the waitress, said as she placed his fifth bowl of ramen in front of him.

"Arigato, Ayame-san. Saa," Naruto picked his chopsticks up as he cried, "Itadakimasu!"

* * *

**_Tsuzuku..._**

* * *

**The A.N.B.U. Case Files: Golden Edition**

"Ne, Naruto onii-chan, you're part of the A.N.B.U., ne?"

"Sou, sou, Konohamaru-kun! Impressive, darou?"

"Aa! Demo, I have one question, Naruto onii-chan."

"Nani, nani? If it's about the A.N.B.U., you can ask me. I know ev-"

"What does A.N.B.U. mean?"

. . . ? Ha?

"Naruto onii-chan?"

"A-Ah, eto, A.N.B.U... _(light bulb)_ Ah! Sou ka! Ne, Konohamaru-kun, you know that there are four Jounin in an ANBU squad, ne?"

"Hai! Demo, why is that?"

"Because A.N.B.U. has four letters, A-N-B-U."

"Hmm...I thought because four members would give the maximum efficiency of the squad while retaining the high speed of a ninja."

"Hai, hai, that too but those are just technicalities. Saa, because in different squads, there are four different members so the meaning of ANBU varies for every squad."

"Hontou?! What does it mean for your squad, Naruto onii-chan?"

"Hehe. In my squad, A.N.B.U. stands for: **A**burame Shino, **N**aruto Uzumaki, **B**aka Shikamaru, **U**chiha Sasuke."

"Oi, ahou! What the hell are you saying about me?!"

"A-Ah, nothing, Shikamaru-sama, aha-ahahahahaha." "

_OWARI_

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in the anime Naruto nor any of the components in the story linked to the anime or manga.**

A/N: I understand that there are two versions of Naruto that are going around: the original version (Japanese sometimes with subs) and the dubbed version (English). There are a lot more but I'm not going to go into that. Judging by the fan fiction that I have read in the Naruto community, most people watch the English dubbed one. I may be wrong but since I personally prefer the original one with subtitles, I used a few Japanese phrases in the fic to help keep the characters in character and help the readers find out who the character is (because that's how I know them). I know that some might feel lost if I put in too much Japanese phrases so I tried minimising them. I also tried to put into context the meaning of some of the phrases but I can't do that for every phrase or else the story would just go around in circles. So, to remedy this, I made a key. It is not 100 accurate so **if anyone finds any errors please don't hesitate to tell me about it. Don't flame me for it, though smile. I admitted that I was not sure.** I made it so that you guys would know what's going on a bit better.

**Translation key:**

**Tora - tiger  
Megitsune - vixen; female fox (guess who this was hint: who had the demon named the Kitsune Kyuubi (Nine-tailed Fox) sealed within him?)** It was a joke made by Shikamaru. You could tell when the next answer was, "Uruse." (just in case you didn't get it sigh)  
**Itadakimasu - 'Thank you for the food' or 'I'll help myself (to the food)'**

In the first part of the chapter, Shikamaru did the countdown in Japanese. I included the numbers beside the words so you could get the meaning from there.

(Gomenasai, if the translation key was so long that you thought that it was a super long chapter. I hate it when you look at the chapter and you think that it's long only to find that the author's note takes up almost half of the length, so, hontou ni gomenasai.) **- I edited this chapter so some things might be different. I also removed a chunk of the Japanese phrases. For those of you who liked the phrases, sorry. After re-reading it, it did seem quite silly to have a whole scene with Japanese dialogue. 09 - 07 - 08**

Anyway, I hope you liked the first chapter. It took me about 3-4 days to write this up since I had distractions and I had to think a lot but, I pulled through.

Please review. I would really love to know what you think of this. I have it all planned out more or less so...feedback please!

And if you have any questions, please leave them in the review and I will try to reply to them just as long as you leave your e-mail address if you would be an anonymous reviewer.

Saa, until the next chapter!

**Next up: Sasuke!**


	2. Chapter two: Sasuke

**A.N.B.U.**

by dreamaker13

_"Will I ever be enough for her?"_

* * *

Chapter two: Sasuke

* * *

_"You are weak." Itachi punched him in the stomach._

_"Why are you so weak?" The elder Uchiha pinned his little brother on the wall by his neck._

_"It's because you lack..." Itachi smirked evilly as he whispered in his ear, "...hatred."_

Sasuke opened his eyes with a gasp, his breathing uneven and a thin film of sweat on his forehead. His left fist clutching his pillow as he stared blankly at the clock in front of him. His dark orbs shifted from the clock to the picture frame sitting beside it. A smile touched his lips as he gazed at the picture of him and his girlfriend, a bright smile on her face. Unclenching the pillow, Sasuke pushed himself from lying on his bare stomach to roll to his side.

"Saku-" Sasuke blinked when he felt an empty space beside him. He sat up and picked the note that was on the empty side.

_Sasuke,_

_Received an early call from the hospital._

_I'll be back tonight._

_Have fun in your mission!_

_- Sakura_

Sasuke smiled when he saw the pink kiss mark beside her signature. Placing the note on his bedside table, Sasuke got out of bed and walked towards the shower while unwinding his shoulders and neck.

x x x

The youngest Uchiha, now dressed in his ANBU uniform, faced the mirror in his bathroom, his hair limp and slightly wet from his shower. He reached for the bottle of hair mousse on the counter, sprayed a generous amount on his palm, spread the mousse on both his hands then ran his hands through his hair, carefully shaping it into his usual wind-blown hair style.

As he looked from left to right, inspecting his work, Sasuke paused when he saw a sore mark on the left crook of his neck...

_"Sasuke."_

_"Hn?" Sasuke turned around as he dried his hair, clad in his pajama bottoms. He saw his girlfriend, her hair up in a messy bun and her towel clad body still wet from the bath. "Nani, Sakura?"_

_Sakura walked over to Sasuke, placing her hands on his shoulders then trailing them down before she wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him from behind._

_"Your muscles are tense," she said, placing her flushed cheek on his bare back. "Do you want a massage?"_

_Sasuke clutched her hand in his as he answered, "Aa."_

_Sasuke lied on his stomach as Sakura straddled him from behind as she squeezed his taut muscles and released the tension on his spine. Sasuke felt himself feel drowsy as Sakura continued her massage. He was already half-asleep when he felt Sakura's torso press upon his back._

_"Sasuke," Sasuke half-opened his eyes at the whisper of his name. "It's gone."_

_Sasuke opened his eyes a bit wider and tried to look at his girlfriend who was perched behind him. "What's gone?"_

_"Orochimaru's seal."_

_The Uchiha sighed and closed his eyes once again. "It's been gone for a long time, Sakura."_

_Sakura giggled. "I know."_

_Sasuke sighed and relaxed. He felt his girlfriend place soft kisses on his shoulder. Another wave of sleep was about to consume him when he felt a prick of pain on the crook of his neck. Sasuke opened his eyes and quickly rolled on his side, caressing the broken skin where his neck met his shoulder._

_"Gomen, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, laughing beside him. "Demo..."_

_She gave the wound a long feline lick before she whispered in his ear, "Orochimaru had you once. Now, it's my turn."_

A smirk went to his lips as he slightly felt the sore bump on his neck.

Finishing his morning routine in the bathroom, Sasuke picked his sling bag, his cloak and Sakura's note up and headed down to the kitchen. He was about to head over to the cereal cupboard when he saw a full meal assembled on the table.

_'Don't worry, I made breakfast,'_ was what the note on the table said. Sasuke blinked as he read and re-read the note. He smiled then looked at the meal.

With a shrug, Sasuke sat down, picked up his chopsticks and muttered, "Itadakimasu." before eating his breakfast.

When the clock chimed, Sasuke placed his chopsticks on the table, put his palms together and said, "Arigato, Sakura."

Sasuke looked at the clock. _7.00_

He stood up, wore his cloak then slung his bag over his shoulder. Once he had stepped out of the house, he immediately sped off, planning on taking a quick detour before heading for the meeting place.

x x x

"Ara, Sasuke-san," the nurse clerk exclaimed, seeing Sasuke enter the hospital. "You're here early. Do you need a check-up?"

"Iie. I'm here to see Sakura," the nurse fidgeted as Sasuke gave her a blank stare. "Where is she?"

The nurse gave an uneasy smile. "A-Ah, she's supposed to be seeing a patient right now, she-"

"Tsumiko," Sasuke turned his gaze to the pink-haired medic who was making her way to the reception. "Tsumasaki-san just cancelled. He said he'd be coming by tomorrow instea-Ah? Sasuke!"

"Ohayou, Sakura," Sasuke said with his smirk now in place as he starts walking towards his pink-haired kunoichi.

"Why are you-" Sakura gasped when Sasuke cut her off with a kiss. "-here..." Sakura licked her lips as they pulled away, tasting the miso she made that morning.

"Arigato, Sakura, for the breakfast," Sasuke whispered as he still held her close.

Sakura smiled up at him. "Mochiron. I know how hopeless you are in the kitchen."

"Maa ne," The couple held each other in front of the reception, whispering sweet nothings in each other's ear. Everyone watched the Uchiha heir and the pink-haired medic-nin publicly display their affection.

A clearing of the throat was heard. Sasuke turned around while Sakura looked over his shoulder and gasped. "Tsu-Tsunade-shishou!"

The Fifth Hokage nodded at her student. "Ohayou, Sakura," She then turned her sharp eyes to the dark-haired companion. "Uchiha."

"Hokage," Sasuke stopped. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him. "-sama." Sasuke smirked up at her, his eyes challenging and taunting. The Godaime distrusted him. It was weakening but it was still there.

Tsunade gave him one last glare before addressing her student. "Sakura, I have a patient for you."

Sakura stepped away from behind Sasuke. Tsunade stepped to the side and revealed a young man with strewn brown hair and amber eyes. He was leaning against a crutch and his arms were bandaged. On his forehead was a forehead protector, not with the symbol of Konoha but with two rows of three diagonal lines going down.

"Shigura Tetsuya from Kirigakure. He was spotted by the guards in the northern part of the village. He had multiple hemorrhages and severe wounds..."

As Tsunade explained the condition of the patient to Sakura, Sasuke stared at the Mist-nin with a frown. He felt a lingering feeling of doubt towards the character of the foreign ninja. He took one step closer when amber eyes immediately turned to him. Sasuke froze, his eyes wide and his heart beating rapidly.

"Uchiha," Sasuke turned around, snapping out of his reverie and looking at the Hokage who had an eyebrow raised. "I believe you have a mission?"

x x x

"That bastard!" Naruto cried out as he hit another replication.

"Naruto, look out!"

"Kuso!" Immediately, Naruto jumped out of his previous spot at the warning of Shikamaru. Once again facing his opponent, Naruto threw three more kunai before dodging another attack from his opponent.

After losing sight of the opponent once again, Naruto joined Shikamaru in the centre of the clearing and looked around, panting. "Where is that yarou?!"

Shikamaru, equally out of breath, stayed quiet and looked around, his sharp eyes looking from right to left.

"When I find that bastard," Naruto slammed his fist into his palm. "I'll kill him!"

Eyes still alert and body still tense, Shikamaru slowed his breathing and straightened. With one more look around, he quietly closed his eyes and crouched down on his toes, his arms lying limp on his knees.

"Oi, baka! What do you think you're doing?!" Naruto cried as he saw Shikamaru crouch down. "Now is not the time to-"

"Sh!"

Naruto stopped at the sound. Shikamaru looked at him with half lidded eyes. Naruto smirked then leaped out of sight. _You're dead._

x x x

Sasuke pushed off another branch, keeping his eyes on the leaping shadow in front of him. "Oi, Shino, is that still him?"

"Aa." Shino said leaping closely behind him. "The males can still smell them."

"Do you really trust your bugs that much," Sasuke asked, keeping his Sharingan on the opponent.

"I trust them with my life," was Shino's reply.

Sasuke risked a glance at his teammate before focusing back to their opponent.

"He's stopped," said Shino as Sasuke stopped at a branch. Sasuke looked around, his Sharingan still activated. "He's on ground."

Sasuke looked down and answered, "Aa." before jumping down.

Upon reaching the ground, Sasuke's eyes darted at every direction, tensing at every shadow. Shino, still in the canopy, held a bug perched on his finger closer to his face. He pressed the ear piece closer to his ear.

_"He's behind the tree about fifty meters in front of you."_

Sasuke looked straight and smirked. "Aa."

Quickly making the seal, Sasuke faced his palm down on the ground. His chakra was then visible and the sound of chirping was emitted. Sasuke looked back at the tree and charged at it with a loud cry. When he was within half a meter of the tree, he saw movement behind and smirked. _Got you._

"Chidori!" Sasuke collided his palm with the trunk of the tree and his opponent. But Sasuke's eyes widened when he found himself hitting a replication. Immediately, he looked up and behind, looking for his opponent.

_"Sasuke!"_ Sasuke looked to his left and saw his opponent hovering above him, his arms crossed over his chest. Sasuke tried to face his opponent but found himself restrained. He looked at his arms and legs. Thin thread was wound around his limbs, halting his movement. He frowned and looked up at his opponent. _Chikushou!_

x x x

Shikamaru stayed crouched on the ground, his sharp eyes closed. The tips of his fingers faintly touched the ground. There had been silence for a few minutes when a soft breeze blew over Shikamaru's form. The grass and the leaves swayed with the wind. When the wind died down, silence once again took over and his sharp eyes immediately opened.

With in that moment, Shikamaru leapt out of the way as two kunai impaled themselves on the ground where he once crouched on. The enemy landed in the middle of the clearing and looked around. He frowned at the silence then jumped back when a pair of kunai was thrown in front of him. He then looked up.

"Kage Bunshin no Juutsu!" Naruto cried out as four replications of himself appeared. Naruto smirked as he let his four clones charge down on the opponent.

"U-zu-ma-ki," four full punches were delivered to the opponent's body before the real Naruto took his turn. "Naruto Rendan!" Five kicks on the chest pounded the opponent. Naruto jumped away from the opponent, his form crouched and his right arm ready.

When the clouds of dust cleared away, the enemy was still standing amidst the multiple bruises on his face and chest area. He started laughing. Naruto stood his ground, looking at the opponent carefully.

As the opponent calmed down from his loud laughter, he looked at Naruto and smirked. "Che, you think that pathetic move hurt me?! It seems that Konoha's ANBU is weaker than before!" Naruto frowned at this. His fingers twitched, itching to blow his head off.

The enemy formed a seal then smirked. "Don't think that you could play ninja with me!" As he was to strike, he felt himself frozen on the spot. "Nani?!"

"Play ninja?" a voice from above called out. Naruto smirked as he saw Shikamaru holding his shadow juutsu seal. "Who said we were playing?"

Naruto took this as his queue as chakra started rotating on his right palm.

"So you think we're weak, huh?" The chakra on Naruto's palm started to rotate faster. "That just gives me another reason to kick your ass!"

The enemy's eyes widened and sweat started to trickle down his face when Naruto started to charge at him.

Naruto pushed his right shoulder back to gain momentum before, "Rasengan!" He pushed the ball of chakra into the enemy's stomach.

At that moment, Shikamaru released his shadow juutsu causing the opponent to spiral then crash into the tree where Shikamaru once stood.

x x x

Sasuke looked up at his opponent, his Chidori still chirping in his palm. He tried to move his limbs again but they were still held by the wire. The opponent chuckled at his helplessness.

"Uchiha, ka?" The wire tightened around Sasuke's limbs, drawing blood. "Is this all you've got?" He gave out another chuckle before stopping.

He felt multiple legs crawling up his neck. He looked to the side and saw hundreds of bugs crawling up to his forehead, sucking out his chakra.

Sasuke felt the wires loosen. Immediately, he reached for a kunai and cut through the wires. He jumped farther back and heightened his Chidori once more.

As the opponent descended from the air, Sasuke charged and took advantage of the enemy's weakened state. The enemy looked up.

When Sasuke was close enough, he took the split second opportunity and smirked as he said, "Ja ne. (See you)" before swiftly pressing his Chidori into the opponent's person.

x x x

Naruto arrogantly dusted his hands over the bound and unconscious form of their opponent. "Heh. Take that, teme!"

"Mendoukusai na," Shikamaru whined as he walked towards his blonde teammate. "He almost got away, anou yarou."

"Demo with my Rendan combined with my Rasengan..." Naruto gave Shikamaru a thumb up with a wide smile on his face.

"Hai, hai. Oh-" Shikamaru looked behind him and saw a cloaked figure, a mask covering the bottom half of the person's face and a hood shadowing their eyes. Naruto followed Shikamaru's gaze and frowned upon seeing the figure. Naruto's body tensed and was ready to strike when, "Ah, it's just you."

"Ha?" Naruto asked, a dumbfounded look on his face. He frowned up at the figure, scratching his head. "Who's he?"

Shikamaru suddenly stopped and looked back at him with wide eyes while the figure narrowed their eyes at him. "'He'?!" they both said.

Naruto looked from Shikamaru to the newcomer with a confused look. "What?"

"Baka," Shikamaru said, hitting Naruto upside the head. "She's a woman."

"Nani?!"

"Oi, dobe," the figure said as 'she' lowered her hood and lowered her mask.

"Ah!" Naruto cried out, pointing to the woman. "Temari!"

"Che. Usorakontachi."

"What did you say, Sasuke-teme," Naruto yelled, looking back Sasuke and Shino who had just arrived.

Temari brought her gaze down to Sasuke's arm and smirked, "Got excited, Uchiha?"

Naruto - who was half strangling Sasuke - and Shikamaru looked at his arm with a frown. Sasuke just smirked and looked away. "Uruse. I'm not interested."

Temari just raised an eyebrow in reply. _Cocky bastard._

"He is just a few hundred meters west of this point. He will not be difficult to spot due to his..." Shino paused as he took a glance at Sasuke's arm. "...state."

"Aa," Temari said as she snapped her right hand. Two Sand ninja's came and went as they quickly picked up the unconscious body.

Temari proceeded to put her hood up but stopped as she was placing her mask back on. "Oh and," she looked up at the four. "Kazekage-sama _reluctantly_ thanks you." And with that she jumped out of sight.

Shikamaru looked back at Sasuke's arm.

"Hora," Sasuke easily caught the fabric thrown at him. He looked at the object. "Wash that off. The smell is bugging me."

Sasuke looked up at the back of his squad leader, the thrown towel in hand.

x x x

Sasuke gazed down at the spot of red that tainted the water before it was washed away by the steady current of the river. He picked the now pink tinted towel up and slowly dipped it into the water. He squeezed out the excess and gently rubbed the towel on his right arm.

Suddenly alert, Sasuke stopped cleaning himself when he felt someone come towards him.

"Mendoukusai na," Sasuke relaxed a little when he heard his squad leader. "I was out all day on a mission when I could have spent it cloud watching instead. Kuso na."

Shikamaru looked down at Sasuke who was crouched down beside the river. "Are you done?"

"Almost." was Sasuke's abrupt answer as he leisurely scrubbed his right arm.

Shikamaru watched the Uchiha for a few more moments before he sighed and lay down on the ground with his arms cushioning his head. Only the chirping of the birds, the river's running current and the occasional sloshing was heard as the two comrades minded their own business.

When Sasuke squeezed the excess water out for the last time, Shikamaru said quietly, "Naze? (Why?)"

"'Naze'?" Sasuke asked, not looking back.

"Why did you have to do that, Sasuke," Shikamaru softly said, letting the wind carry his words to Sasuke's ears.

"I was just following orders-"

"The orders were to capture them," Shikamaru said, keeping his eyes on the clouds. "You were to kill only when it was completely necessary. And I highly doubt that you were in a position where the need to kill was required."

The Uchiha didn't move. He stayed on the riverbank, crouched down and silent. Shikamaru looked at Sasuke, not bothering to lift his head or change his position.

"What's the matter," Sasuke said, as he stood up and slung the towel over his shoulder, his arrogant voice unnoticeably shaking. "I finished the mission. It doesn't matter how I do it. If he died, then it was his fault for being weak."

"Why must you always be superior?" Sasuke stopped and widened his eyes at the question.

_"Why must you always be superior," his sensei asked, looking him straight in the eye._

Sasuke held his breath as if ready to yell but instead, "Are you done," he asked, his tone colder and more distant.

Shikamaru stayed silent, watching him from his position. When he didn't answer, Sasuke turned around and walked past him, his eyes unreadable. Shikamaru sat up when his teammate walked on.

"Power is not everything, Sasuke. If you still can't understand that, then maybe you shouldn't have come back to Konoha," Sasuke stopped. "And maybe," Shikamaru looked at Sasuke from the corner of his eyes. "You never deserved her."

Sasuke's fist shook from the force of his grip as he tightly clenched his fingers. He glared at the spot in front of him before releasing his hold then smirking.

"Heh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're just interested in my girlfriend."

"Baka. If you're not going to be serious about this, then might as well hand her over to Rock Lee. He'll make her happy."

_Kuso!_ Sasuke thought as he gritted his teeth. "Uruse," Sasuke spat out before walking away.

Shikamaru sighed when Sasuke was finally out of earshot. "Aitsu (That guy)..."

x x x

Slowly, step by step, Sasuke walked to the hospital. His surroundings were quiet as he walked the street to the hospital. Reaching the hospital, Sasuke stepped in as the rain started to come down. He spotted Sakura speaking with Tsumiko, the clerk.

_"Power is not everything, Sasuke. If you still can't understand that, then maybe you shouldn't have come back to Konoha. And maybe...you never deserved her."_

Sasuke clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he glared at the sitting chair in front of him.

"Uchiha Sasuke, the last of the Uchiha clan," Sasuke turned around at the voice.

"Who-," Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw the ninja from that morning still in his crutches.

"Shigure Tetsuya," he said, holding his right hand. Sasuke immediately slapped the hand away. Tetsuya just smirked and placed his right hand back on his crutches. "Yareyare, I've heard a lot about you and your," Tetsuya's amber eyes narrowed sinisterly. "Betrayal."

Sasuke stared at him blankly, his hold tightening on his sling bag and his fist tightening on his side.

Tetsuya laughed at Sasuke's expression. Sasuke frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Isn't it just amusing how two members of Konoha's so called great Uchiha clan betrayed their own village to seek out power," Tetsuya calmed himself, breathing in and out. "Demo, tell me, Uchiha-_kun_, how was it," Tetsuya looked at Sasuke with his golden-amber eyes glinting with malice. "Being Orochimaru's toy?"

In a flash, Sasuke dropped his bag and clutched at Tetsuya's shirt, bringing their faces closer to each other. "Omae wa dare ka?! (Who the heck are you?!)"

"Ohoho, did I hit the target, Uchiha-_kun_," Tetsuya casually said, seemingly unaffected by Sasuke's threatening move. "But you had some nerve, didn't you? Coming back to your village while you were labeled as a missing-nin. And what's worse, you hade to claim something of your own."

"Nani," Sasuke spat out as he clutched at Tetsuya's shirt even tighter and brought their faces closer. Tetsuya just kept his cocky smirk intact.

"Sa-ku-ra," Tetsuya said in sing-song. Sasuke's eyes widened at her name.

"Face it, Uchiha. Both you and I know that you don't deserve her and yet you claimed her," Sasuke glared at Tetsuya. "Why, Uchiha? Why? Why did you claim her?"

Sasuke risked a glance at Sakura who was laughing at something Tsumiko said. "Was it for recognition, for acceptance? Was it for love?" Sasuke frowned down at Tetsuya. "Do you even love her? Have you ever told her?"

Sasuke brought Tetsuya up, their noses were touching and the crutches were dangerously dangling on the side of Tetsuya's body.

"Sou, you haven't, have you? It's because you can't."

"Uruse!" and with that, Sasuke punched Tetsuya, making him land on the floor with a clatter.

"Sasuke!" Immediately, Sakura rushes to her patient's side before the Uchiha could administer another punch. "Sasuke, stop it. You know better than to punch an innocent man, more so injured!"

Sasuke glared as he watched Sakura gently cradle Tetsuya's head as she asked him what hurt.

"Why," Sasuke asked, shaking. "Why are you defending him? Why are you taking his side instead of mine? Why? Why?!"

"You know I have to, Sasuke," was Sakura's reply as she looked up at her boyfriend. "He's my patient."

Sasuke's shoulders started to shake as deep chuckles came from his throat. It then escalated into a laugh as he said, "Because he's your patient, Sakura? Even if he was the enemy, you would still protect him?"

"Of course!" Sakura cried as she stood up. "I would protect my patients from anything. Even from you!"

The chuckles immediately halted at Sakura's exclamation. Sasuke looked up at Sakura with a confused frown but she gave him her own frustrated one.

"Why do you always have to be superior?"

Sasuke froze and his eyes widened at the question.

_"Power is not everything, Sasuke. If you still can't understand that, then maybe you shouldn't have come back to Konoha..."_

_"Face it, Uchiha. Both you and I know that you don't deserve her..."_

Sasuke came back to his senses when Tetsuya gave out a groan from the floor. Sakura immediately went back down to his side.

"Go home, Sasuke," Sasuke looked up at his girlfriend who supported Tetsuya up. "I'll be home in a few hours." And with that final statement, she lead Tetsuya to his room.

As they turned away from Sasuke, Tetsuya flashed him a smirk with his malicious amber orbs. Sasuke frowned and tightly fisted his hands. Seeing Sakura and the Mist-nin disappear into the corridors, Sasuke picked his bag up and ran out into the rain.

x x x

Surprise came over the former ANBU when he opened the door of his apartment where Uchiha Sasuke stood, dripping wet in his ANBU uniform. His eyes were dark and clouded.

"Hn? Sasuke? Wh-"

"Don't ask," was Sasuke's abrupt reply as he stepped inside Kakashi's apartment. He wasn't in the mood to talk about anything, not even to his old mentor.

Kakashi sighed and sweat-dropped, hanging his head. "Ne, Sasuke, you still haven't-"

Without another word, Sasuke dropped his bag on the floor and laid his wet person onto Kakashi's living room couch. Sasuke turned to the side, facing the back of the couch and closed his eyes. Kakashi's gaze softened as he 'tsk-ed'.

"Yareyare," Kakashi said, spreading a blanket over Sasuke's wet and surely cold body. After turning the lights off, Kakashi walked to his bedroom. Stopping at the doorway of the living room, he looked back and sighed before walking on and closing his bedroom door.

Once Kakashi left, Sasuke brought a hand up and felt the mark Sakura gave him the night before...

_She gave the wound a long feline lick before she whispered in his ear, "Orochimaru had you once. Now, it's my turn."_

_Sasuke smirked at the declaration and with his ninja reflexes, he pinned her down underneath him. He held one of her hands and placed it on his chest._

_"I am yours, Sakura," He brought his face closer to hers. "Always."_

_Sakura brought a hand up to his cheek as a small tear ran down the side of her eye. "I love you, Sasuke."_

_"I know," was Sasuke's answer before he closed the gap, kissed her and loved her the whole night._

Sasuke gritted his teeth and fisted his hands as a sob overwhelmed him, creating a tear that flowed down across his face. _Chikushou..._

x x x

Both Naruto and Shikamaru had equally shocked faces when they saw the Uchiha Sasuke lift the small drapes of the Ichiraku. They both gulped when the towering form of Sasuke entered the stall, his aura dark and ominous. Naruto and Shikamaru froze when Sasuke's obsidian gaze ventured at them.

Sasuke kept his gaze on them for half a minute before he said in a low, dark voice, "Uruse."

Naruto froze as he stiffly turned his head towards Shikamaru. "Kowai (Scary)..."

Shikamaru, equally frozen, just nodded his head.

"Anou sa, anou sa," Naruto's voice shook as he whispered, leaning closer towards Shikamaru. "H-He's even scarier than that b-bakemono, Gaara."

"A-Aa," Shikamaru said with a small nod as he compared the Kazekage and the Uchiha in his head.

"Oi, you two," Naruto and Shikamaru shivered at the sound of Sasuke's low voice. "You do know that I could hear you perfectly from here, na?!"

Naruto looked back and saw the dark glare that Sasuke gave through his dark hair and cringed. "G-Gomenasai, Sasuke-te-...ah, iya, S-Sasuke-kun. W-We were j-just-"

"Gaara, ka?"

Shikamaru and Naruto held on to each other, both shivering at the tone of voice the Uchiha sent them.

"G-G-Gaara? H-Hehehe. D-Doko? (Where?)" Naruto said in a humorous tone to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't have a sense of humour that afternoon and instead gave them a murderous glare with his Sharingan.

"Baka," Sasuke said in his dark tone. Naruto and Shikamaru held on tighter to each other. "You..."

"DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO THAT AHOU!"

"T-T-T-T-TASUKETEEEEEE!! (Help!)"

* * *

**_Tsuzuku..._**

* * *

**The A.N.B.U. Case Files: Golden Edition**

_Knock, knock, knock..._

"Coming," said a voice from the inside.

Sakura waited as she heard footsteps coming towards the door.

"Hai," The door opened and Kakashi showed himself, his usual Icha Icha Paradise in his right hand and a blow dryer on his left...matte!

"A-anou, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said sweetly, her green eyes constantly darting at the pink blow dryer Kakashi held limply in his left hand. "I-Is Sasuke in there?"

"Hm? Ah, iie. Sasuke isn't here. Demo," Kakashi looked at the blow dryer in his hand with a frown. "Sakura, do you happen to know how to use these? I just borrowed them from Kurenai and they seem like a newer model than the ones I'm used to."

Sakura blinked at the blow dryer before she caught herself. "A-A-Ah! I do, Kakashi-sensei. You just flick this," then the blow dryer came to life.

"Ah! Sou ka," Kakashi then aimed the blowing part at his head. He then turned it off. "Arigato, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said, smiling while delicately touching his silver locks. "It really helped a lot."

"Glad I could be of help, sen..." she looked at Kakashi oddly. "...sei."

"Maa. I'll see you later, ne? Ja ne."

"A-Ah."

As Kakashi closed the door, Sakura wondered, _So that's how they keep their hair that way._ A picture of Sasuke holding a blow dryer to his head as he styled his hair came to her mind. Finally, Sakura let out the peals of laughter she had been holding in.

_But what it really was..._

"Yoshi," Kakashi said, flicking the switch of the blow dryer as Sakura had shown him. "Now I can finally do this."

Kakashi sat down on a chair and aimed the blowing end of the dryer...

...downward.

"I can finally dry the couch that Sasuke no baka wet last night."

_OWARI_

* * *

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

**Translation key:** (I will not be putting up the terms that I have put up in the last chapter which are also present in this chapter. This would somehow shorten the length of this key.)

**Tsuzuku - to be continued** sorry, forgot to put this in the last chapter.  
**onii-chan - elder brother; big brother** again, forgot to put this in the last chapter.  
**Demo - but  
Arigato (gozaimasu) - Thank you (very much)  
Ohayou (gozaimasu) - Good morning  
-shishou - master; teacher** It's a bit higher than a sensei, I think. It's more for someone who had mastered a certain skill. If you watch Rurouni Kenshin, you'll get the gist of it.**  
Kirigakure - Hidden Village of Mist in the Country of Wave**  
**Chikushou! - Damn it!  
Rendan - Combo (?)** I don't know if it's _Rendan_ or _Randen_ or _Randan_ or _Renden_. (sigh)**  
Kage Bunshin no Juutsu - Shadow replication technique  
Usorakontachi - moron; dumbass  
Matte! - wait!  
Owari - The End**

Here's the second chapter! I hope it was as good as the first or even better. I had a bit of a writer's block on the hospital part but I managed.

Liked the Kakashi blow dryer flick? I just had that in mind.

**Do you guys think you know what the trend in this story is? If you think you do, message me or leave a review. Complete this sentence: **

**_When their love lives are in trouble, the A.N.B.U. go to ..._**

I'm sorry if Sakura seeming a bit distrustful in this chapter. It had to be done for the sake of the fic so, I apologise. It will remedied in further chapters, don't worry.

I know this story is emotional but don't you all agree that the anime Naruto has its emotional sides as well?

I know the mission seemed a bit lame but that was what I could come up with.

Oh, and if I had missed any Japanese phrases or if my translation isn't right, please tell me and I will try to remedy them. Arigato!

Saa, until the next chapter!

**Next up: Shino!**


	3. Chapter three: Shino

**A.N.B.U.**

by dreamaker13

_"I want to secure my destiny."_

* * *

Chapter three: Shino

* * *

"Mou," Naruto said as he circled the circumference of the branch on his feet before jumping off forward once more. "I'm so bored, datte ba yo!" He landed on a branch and ran on its length before jumping off when he reached the end. Naruto landed on a branch and stopped as he watched an intricate horse-drawn carriage pass by.

"Ah, what kind of mission is this," Naruto cried as he scratched his head in frustration. "This mission isn't even worth our status! Shikamaru no baka for accepting this stupid mission!"

_"Oi, dobe, uruse. It's not like we had a choice."_

_"Aa. It's troublesome demo, it was a personal request from the daimyo himself. Hokage-sama couldn't decline. Besides, there was this missing-nin mission I wanted to accept instead but that Hyuuga Neji beat me to it."_

"Ah, mou!" Naruto clutched his head as he cried out. "Anou yarou...If he wasn't Hinata's cousin I'd-"

_"Oi, keep in formation. We're entering the Kuroishida. Kitsune, Ari, protect the rear. We want to be ready for an ambush."_

"Hai, hai," Naruto answered lazily as he looked back down at the moving carriage. Naruto sighed when he saw the carriage a good distance ahead of him. "I'd do anything for a bowl of ramen right now."

"There's a troop of thirty coming from the south," Shino said as he landed beside Naruto. Naruto's expression turned serious as he faced his teammate.

"Shinobi," Naruto asked as he looked southward.

"Iie, I don't sense any chakra. Demo," Shino paused as he looked at his tiny companions. "I'm sure they're after the Hime."

x x x

The Hime sat in the carriage, her face solemn and gently made up and clad in her best kimono. She gave out a startled noise when the carriage went to an abrupt halt. She looked around, checking where they were. Still spotting the forest of the Country of Fire, the Hime stuck her head out of the window and asked the horseman, "Sumimasen demo (Excuse me but), why did we stop?"

"Ah, my apologies, Hime-sama demo the ANBU had requested that we stop for a few moments," was the horseman's answer. "It's alright There's nothing to worry about. The daimyo said that they're one of the best in Konohagakure. The Hokage herself recommended them."

The Hime blinked at this. "ANBU, ka?"

Shikamaru watched the exchange while crouched on a tree branch as he looked over the halted carriage.

"Shino, distance from the target."

_"Approximately five hundred meters. Advancement, gradual but rapid."_

"Sasuke, distance to the next village."

_"Two kilometers."_

"Naruto, pre-ambush look-outs."

_"Two. Lightly armed. Should I take them now-"_

"Iie. If we let ourselves known, it would just worsen the situation. Wait until the ambush."

_"Demo, Shikamaru, if we move now, we'd be able to reach the next village before the ambush."_ Sasuke whispered into the earpiece.

"Aa. I've thought about that demo," Shikamaru stared at the carriage below him. "The orders were to protect the Hime and the carriage. Running away would just make them follow us and inflict more damage on both targets. Besides, running would be too confusing and troublesome."

_"But wouldn't the confusion be an advantage -tte ba yo?"_

_"The confusion would confuse the enemy but it would confuse us as well,"_ Shino answered. _"We would not be able to perform at our optimum ability."_

Shikamaru smirked, hearing the answer. "Aa. Maru." His smirk disappeared when he heard a light rustling ahead.

_"The enemy is approximately within a hundred meters from the target,"_ a whisper urgently said. Shikamaru kept his gaze on the rustling bushes. Silence prevailed as the rustling stopped. Shikamaru frowned until suddenly, a band of bandits charged at the Hime and the carriage.

"Ikuze (Let's go)!"

The Hime cried out when she saw bandits charge towards the carriage. When she saw their glinting weapons and sinister smiles, she rushed to the small window leading to the horseman's seat.

"Hizume-san," the Hime called out from the small window. She looked from right to left but she saw no sign on the horseman. She looked at the horseman's seat and gasped when she saw blood. "Hizume-san!"

"Hime-sama!" The Hime looked back at the call and spotted blonde hair just outside her carriage. "Hime-sama, shikkari shiro, onegai. Please calm yourself."

"Hizume-sa-"

"Daijoubu. Hizume-san is fine," Naruto said as he impaled his knee on an incoming bandit. "Trust us."

"Demo, the blood-"

"You have my word," The Hime gasped as Naruto faced her with his azure gaze. "As a ninja."

The Hime froze for a moment before nodding. "A-Aa."

Naruto smiled at her before turning to his right and crying out, "Oi, Sasuke!"

"Aa."

The Hime gasped in surprise when she felt the carriage sink down before bouncing back up to its original state. She looked out the window then looked up.

"Hime-sama," Sasuke said as he knelt down on the carriage roof. "Please sit down."

The Hime looked up at the Uchiha before nodding her head and complying. Sasuke looked at the horseman's seat. "Shino!"

"Aa," Shino answered before hitting the reins on the horses. The carriage jerked, causing the Hime to almost tumble in her seat before it rapidly shot towards the village.

Naruto smiled a proud smile as he watched the carriage ride off towards the nearby town. As he turned around, two bandits came charging at him from his left and his right. Unprepared, Naruto stretches his hands out, holding the two bandits away from his person as he held their heads in his hands. As he gave them a smug grin, a third bandit came running towards him with a _katana_ about to pierce him in the stomach.

Naruto frowned when his arms didn't budge when he tried to move them. He looked to his sides and saw the smirks the two bandits gave him as they held his hand outstretched. Naruto faced the third bandit, glaring at the glistening _katana_.

As the weapon was about to pierce through his gut, he closed his eyes to welcome the pain. The bandit's cry came closer and closer until...

Naruto slowly cracked one eye open when he heard the cry stop. He looked up and saw the third bandit frozen to his spot. "Huh? Nani?"

"Oi, this isn't the time to relax, baka," Naruto looked over the bandit's shoulder and saw Shikamaru holding both a group of bandits behind him and the bandit, who was about to pierce Naruto, with his Kage mane no Juutsu. "We have to clean these bastards up before they could reach the Hime."

"Aa. Thanks, Shikamaru," Naruto cried, giving his captain a big smile.

With that, Naruto concentrated until chakra started swirling in both his hands which still held the two bandits. As the swirling chakra increased, the cries of the bandits grew louder until Naruto threw them off at opposite directions, making them spiral against the trees. Naruto straightens as he cracks his knuckles, smirking at the frozen bandit in front of him.

Upon seeing what the blond ninja did to his allies, he shivered in fear as Naruto looked at him with a menacing smirk and glinting azure eyes. Naruto raised his right arm and drew it back, his hand shaped like a claw like he was about to exhibit the Rasengan once again. The bandit shivered at the thought of the Rasengan but could do nothing as he was bound by Shikamaru's juutsu.

As Naruto's arm was drawn back, to the bandit's utter surprise, instead of collecting a swirling ball of chakra, Naruto fisted his hand and delivered a strong punch on the bandit's jaw. Either out of utter relief or surprise, the bandit immediately fainted after that first punch.

"Ha? Nani?!" Naruto exclaimed as the bandit fell on the floor after his punch. "Oi, baka, get up! I'm not done with you yet," Naruto held the bandit by the collar. "Oi, get up, get up, get up!" Naruto cried as he punched the bandit with every phrase.

"Che," Shikamaru muttered as he threw a couple of shuriken to his right and to his left, cutting the wires, causing two trees to crash onto the group of bandits he was holding back behind him. "Baka."

x x x

The Hime held onto the edge of her seat as the carriage went rapidly through the road. She closed her eyes as the carriage went over a rock impaled in the dirt. Opening her eyes, the Hime gasped when she saw a bandit hanging onto the edge of the carriage, about to break the glass of the windows. Her eyes widened and her breath poised for a scream when a foot from above kicked the bandit off the carriage.

"Are you alright, Hime-sama," Sasuke asked as he came down from the carriage's roof and placed himself against the door to the carriage.

The Hime caught her breath when she saw Sasuke and meekly whispered, "H-Hai. Arigato...gozaimasu."

Sasuke nodded and placed both his hands on the edge of the roof when his face hardened as he faced the Hime. The Hime looked back and cried out when she saw another bandit holding onto the opposite side of the carriage trying to lever open the door of the carriage.

"Kuso," Sasuke spat out as he was about to push himself off to jump to the other side but stopped when he noticed the bandit stopping.

A few moments later, the Hime gasped and Sasuke silently cringed when they saw a swarm of insects make their way up the bandit's arm, making their way towards his forehead. Before long, most of the insects had made it to their destination making the bandit clutch his head with both his hands and effectively letting go of the carriage.

The Hime pressed herself closer to the door where Sasuke was holding onto and stared at the opposite door with wide eyes.

"Hime-sama."

The Hime turned around, coming face to face with Sasuke's serious expression, his Sharingan activated. "H-Hai."

"Please keep calm. We will be arriving in the next village in a few moments."

The Hime stared at the Uchiha's stern expression and nodded shakily. "Wakarimasu, I understand."

With a slight nod of the head, Sasuke pushed off from the side of the carriage and landed on the carriage's roof. Sasuke stayed crouched on the roof as he looked behind him slightly.

"Arigato, Shino," Sasuke muttered towards the driver. "I didn't know that they were shinobi."

"Iie, they weren't," Shino answered, keeping his shaded eyes on the road in front of him. "I just wanted him to let go of the carriage."

Sasuke smirked as he faced his front once again.

"Anou baka," He cursed when he saw a group of bandits charging after the fast paced carriage. "What the hell are those two doing?!"

"Two shinobi are not enough to take all of them," was Shino's reply.

"Che," Sasuke said, walking to the rear of the carriage.

He crouched down and made a very familiar seal. Sasuke took a deep breath. "Katon Ryuuka no Juutsu!"

A breath of fire came out of Sasuke, creating a sea of flames, drowning the bandits in the heat. The Hime gasped when she saw the flowing flames spilling from above the carriage.

The flow of the flames did not stop as they went through the trees and into the clearing where Shikamaru and Naruto were still fending off the rest.

Shikamaru was about to pierce a kunai through a bandit's heart when he felt the heat. He looked back and jumped off, letting the bandit be engulfed by the flames. He tied a string of wire to one of his shuriken then throwing the shuriken at a tree branch above the reach of the flame.

"Naruto!" Naruto looked up from beating a bandit up then looked back as he saw the flames. He stared at the orange glow before he felt Shikamaru swing out and tug at the straps of his ANBU uniform as the flames filled the whole clearing.

The fire died out from Sasuke's mouth as he stood on top of the still speeding carriage, slightly out of breath.

x x x

"Oi, Sasuke," Sasuke, still perched on the roof, looked to his right and saw Naruto running side by side with the moving carriage.

"Nani, dobe?"

"Uruse, Sasuke-teme! What was that back there?! You almost killed us back there," Naruto cried out as he ran to keep up with the carriage.

"Heh," Sasuke smirked, folding his arms in indifferent arrogance. "Usorakontachi."

"Nani?!" Naruto screamed out, ready to pounce at Sasuke. "Say that again, yarou!"

"Hizume-san!" the Hime cried out from inside the carriage. "Hizume-san, are you alright?"

"Ah, hai," the man on Naruto's back said, a smile on his slightly wrinkled face. "Thank you for worrying, Hime-sama."

"Hm," Naruto looked back then stopped. "Ah, that's right. Sorry, ji-san. I'll be putting you down now."

And with that Naruto tightened his hold on the old man on his back as he leaped on top of the carriage, making sure to step on Sasuke's hand before placing Hizume-san back onto the driver's seat.

"Saa, ji-san," Naruto said as he carefully eased the horseman onto his former seat.

"Arigato gozaimasu," Hizume-san said gratefully. Naruto just gave him one of his wide smiles before he turned around. Seeing Sasuke standing up and his Sharingan ready, Naruto smirked as he glanced at the Uchiha's red hand.

"Nani, teme," Naruto said mockingly. He faced Sasuke fully as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Hurts, darou?"

Sasuke's Sharingan darkened. "Is that a challenge, dobe?"

"Don't think you can beat me," Naruto said, crouching into his taijutsu stance. "Teme."

"Heh," Sasuke smirked as he himself crouched into his own taijutsu stance. Tension built up as both waited for the appropriate moment to strike.

"Yareyare," Shikamaru sighed, perched on the back of the carriage. "Just don't damage the-" Shikamaru paused when he heard the fight start, feeling the carriage bounce up and down. Shikamaru sighed again. "Ah, ah. Mendoukusai na."

"Hn," was Shino's reply from the driver's end.

x x x

"Okaeri nasai (Welcome home), Shino-sama," a timid voice called out from the entrance as Shino slid open the front door.

"Tadaima (I'm home)," Shino replied as he stepped inside, closing the door. He gingerly removed his sandals at the entrance and walked on, his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Shino-sama," the timid voice called out again causing Shino to stop in front of her. "Your father requests for your presence in his quarters."

"Aa, tell him that I will join him shortly," Shino then proceeded to walk towards his room.

"Hai, Shino-sama."

x x x

Kneeling in front of the door of his father's room, Shino called out, "Otou-sama, shitsurei shimasu. (Pardon for the intrusion.)"

"Ohairi. (Enter.)"

At the muffled reply of permission from the inside, Shino carefully slid the shoji door open and entered, closing the shoji behind him. Still kneeling, Shino looked around and frowned when he didn't see a sign of his father.

"Out here, Shino."

Hearing the voice, Shino opened another shoji door leading to the balcony overlooking the courtyard and found his father sitting on the wooden floor of the deck. Shino stepped out and closed the shoji behind him as he sat down beside his father.

"Shino," Shino's attention snapped into place despite the soft tone of his father.

"Hai."

"Where is Kairi-san," His father asked gently, slowly turning his head towards his son.

"Ah, hai. Kairi is in the kitchen preparing the tea," Shino curtly said. "Also, Okaa-sama wanted to speak with her."

"Sou ka," his father said, pushing his dark glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Hai."

"I heard that you had to escort the Daimyo's daughter. I trust that there were no difficulties."

"Hai, there was an attack in the Kuroishida area demo," Shino paused when he heard footsteps. "Nothing unexpected happened."

"Aa," His father agreed with a nod. "Kuroishida had always been a dangerous route for the civilians. Unfortunately enough, the Kuroishida is one of the main routes taken to leave this country. Troupes of bandits and a few missing-nin are usually found in Kuroishida. I understand why the Daimyo wanted ANBU to escort his daughter to Wind Country."

Ruffling of cloth was heard from the other side of the door and both father and son paused their conversation.

"Sumimasen (Pardon me), Aburame-sama, Shino-sama," a familiar timid voice softly called out from the other side. "Your tea is ready."

"Hai, dozo," Shino's father replied.

The shoji then slowly slid revealing a lady clad in a pale pink kimono, giving her pale complexion a slight blush and half of her long black hair was held away from her face by a strip of pink ribbon, leaving her bangs to cover her gray downcast eyes.

Silently, Kairi placed a tray in front of her, placing the a cup of green tea in front of both Shino and his father and leaving a plate of rice biscuits on the tray in between them. Kairi bowed down in front of them saying, "Shitsurei shimasu," before sliding the shoji door closed.

The elder Aburame looked at his son staring at the closed shoji door. He slowly raised his cup to his lips, took a sip then looked back at his son.

"Utsukushii desu ne? (Isn't she beautiful?)"

There was a pause before Shino calmly turned to his father and answered, "Hai."

His father nodded as he took another long sip of his tea before setting the cup back down on the tray. "Your mother was just telling me how she was wondering when you would be ready. She suggested in about six months but I preferred to consult you before deciding."

Shino silently looked at his tea before carefully answering, "With all due respect, Otou-sama, I don't think six months is sufficient enough for the amount of preparation needed."

Shino's father nodded once, beckoning him to to go on.

"Kairi is still a year below the legal age, unless we receive her family's approval we would have to wait a while longer for the ceremony to take place."

"We have received the approval from Kairi-san's family before we brought her to Konoha."

"Hai, demo the dowry has to be paid."

Shino's father nodded again. "It has been taken care of."

"And Kairi's preparation for marriage-"

"Shino," Shino stopped at hearing his name.

"Hai."

Shino's father placed his half-full cup of tea down before looking back at his son. "Is there something wrong?"

Shino looked back down at his untouched cup. "Iie," he replied with slight defeat.

"Shino-"

"Sumimasen, Aburame-san," both of the Aburame looked at the messenger who was kneeling in the courtyard. "Hokage-sama wants you in her office."

Shino's father paused to look at his son. Shino sighed and stood up. "Otou-sama, Genma-san," the younger Aburame said, nodding at both his father and the messenger ninja. "I still have other matters to attend to." With that, Shino slid open the shoji and bowed saying, "Shitsurei shimasu." before the closed the shoji, leaving his father to go to the Hokage.

x x x

Shino tapped the toe of his sandals on the floor. "Itte rasshai (I'm leaving)," he said as he was about to slide open the front doors.

"Itte mairimasu (Have a nice day), Shino-sama," Kairi replied, kneeling down near the entrance, giving Shino a small bow.

When Shino opened the front door, the morning light flooded the entrance before it revealed a whiskered face with a big smile plastered onto it.

"Yo."

"Naruto," Shino sighed, seeing Naruto raising his right hand in greeting.

"Ohayou gozaimasu (Good morning)," Kairi said, bowing as she did.

"Ah, ohayou, anou..." Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment, a goofy smile in place.

"Chou Kairi desu," Kairi said, bowing down once more. "Hajimemashite. (A pleasure to meet you.)"

"Chou," Naruto scratched the side of his face. "Kairi?"

"Naruto," Shino said, turning back to his teammate. "Why are you here?"

"Ahehe. Sono, well," Naruto put a hand on the back of his head. "I was heading to the Ichiraku when I passed by and I thought that you might like to join-"

"You're broke."

Naruto cringed and hung his head, "Hai. Demo sa," Naruto raised his head and smiled at Shino. "You'll lend me money, ne? You won't let Naruto-kun starve, ne? Ne, Shino?"

"No," Shino said, stepping out of the house and past Naruto.

"Hah! Nani?! Oi, chotto matte-ba yo (Wait a minute -tte ba yo)!" Naruto said, running up to Shino. "Why not? I'll pay you back the next time we get paid."

"We were just paid yesterday, Naruto," Shino said, looking straight ahead.

"I know that, demo," Naruto scratched his cheek as a blush crept up his cheeks. "I saw this kimono in the shop yesterday and," The blonde ninja sighed as he looked up at the sky, placed his hands behind his head and sported a dreamy smile. "Ah, Hinata would look so kawaii in that kimono." A worried frown then crossed Naruto's face as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Demo sa, that kimono cost half of my savings plus the roof and the bathroom were leaking and I had to get more kunai, shuriken, smoke bombs..."

Shino kept walking ahead as Naruto enumerated all his expenses for the week. No emotion was expressed on Shino's face but the clenching of his fists were evident as he walked on to do his training.

"And I had to pay Sasuke back, and Kiba...and I have to take Hinata out-Ah, mou!" Naruto cried out, ruffling his blonde hair in frustration.

"Dakara," Shino stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Naruto with his head hung low. "Please, Shino. I just need enough to last me through the week. I'll pay you back. Yakusokusuru-tte ba yo. (I promise -tte ba yo)"

Shino looked at Naruto blankly before sighing then reaching into his wallet. "Hora," he said, passing a few bills to Naruto.

At the sight of money, Naruto perked up and cheered, "Yatta! Arigato, Shino," Naruto placed an arm around Shino's shoulders. "Saa, as a token of my gratitude, I'll treat you to Ichiraku ramen!"

Naruto laughed as he marched to the Ichiraku singing, "Let's go eat some ramen. Let's, let's GO!"

Shino sighed, shaking his head as he followed Naruto towards Ichiraku.

x x x

"Anou sa," Naruto said as he and Shino walked the last few meters towards the Ichiraku. "Did you hear about Shikamaru?"

Shino, a slight frown marring his forehead, looked at Naruto from behind his dark glasses. "Nani?"

"Well, apparently Shikamaru had been out drinking and got into a fight last night," Naruto said, placing his hands behind his head. "I didn't really understand what the fight was about, something about Ino, demo I heard it took Neji's squad and Asuma-sensei to calm him down."

Shino faced front and looked ahead of him.

"The bartender said that Shikamaru's been drinking for the past few days, always getting drunk and getting violent every time he hears Ino's name or something close. Mattaku, he's even worse than Gejimayu (Fuzzy-eyebrows) when drunk," Naruto spat in frustration as a pout formed on his face. "If he just ate Ichiraku ramen instead of getting drunk he-Oi!"

Naruto cried out as someone bumped into him from behind. He looked back then up front again and saw a girl about a year or two younger than them jogging in place, holding a plastic bag as she stuck her tongue out and said, "Baka."

A vein popped on Naruto's forehead as he glared at the girl with clenched fists. "Nani-tte ba yo..."

Seeing the blond ninja's glare, the girl immediately sped off. Naruto was gritting his teeth, ready to run after her but stopped when, within the last ten steps, she tripped on a rock and fell on the road, the contents of her plastic bag spilling onto the dirt. Naruto, unable to contain himself, threw his head back and laughed out loud as he clutched his stomach.

"Serves you right-tte ba yo!" he said shouting out in laughter.

"Naruto," Shino scolded as he walked over to the girl and crouched down beside her. "Sumimasen," Shino said as he started to place the contents back into the plastic bag. He stood up and offered a hand to help her up then handed her the plastic bag.

"Arigato, anou..."

"Aburame Shino. And that idiot," Shino said looking at Naruto who was still laughing. "Is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Atsuko desu," she said, bowing politely in front of Shino then straightened up with an apologetic smile on her face. "Gomenasai. I didn't really see where I was going," she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with a free hand.

"Heh," Naruto said walking over to them. "That's what you get for being clumsy," He hooked a finger on either side of his mouth and stuck his tongue out. "Baka."

Atsuko clenched her fists at the gesture and bonked Naruto on the head.

"Ahou!" she cried out stomping on towards the Ichiraku's direction.

"Che," Naruto spat out, rubbing the growing bump on his head. "Anou onna wa..."

"Let's go," Shino simply said, walking on towards the Ichiraku.

"Sou ka," Naruto straightened, remembering his ramen. He marched on.

"Ah," Naruto stopped when he saw a familiar figure waiting in front of his favourite stall. Squinting for a bit, he looked at the figure closely. Suddenly, the long black hair and a small lithe form became utterly familiar. Naruto's eyes and mouth widened at the sight, making him run towards the figure with joy. "Hi-na-ta-chan!"

The figure in front of the Ichiraku immediately turned around, her cheeks tinted pink. "Naruto-kun," she said, a hint of endearment in her tone.

Naruto immediately reached her and enveloped her in a tight embrace, rubbing his cheek against hers.

"Yatta na," Naruto said, a big smile on his face. "I get to eat ramen and be with Hinata-chan."

"N-Naruto-kun..."

"Ohayou, Hinata," Shino said, stepping closer towards the couple.

"Hn," Hinata looked over Naruto's shoulder and smiled. "Ohayou, Shino. It's been a while."

"Hai," Shino answered curtly.

"Na, Hinata," Naruto said, pulling the pale-eyed girl into he stall. "I'm hungry. Let's eat ramen."

x x x

"Ji-san," Naruto called out as he sat down on one of the stools. He held out a finger. "The usual and make it big. I need to store up my energy-tte ba yo," he said, placing a hand on his right bicep.

"Ayame-neechan," a familiar voice called out from the back room. "Do you know where my-Eh!"

Naruto looked up from his conversation with Hinata then made a face when he saw who it was. "EH!"

"You," both Naruto and Atsuko cried out, pointing at each other.

"What are you think you're doing here, kono yarou," cried Atsuko, her eyes flaring and her fists clenched.

"That should be my line, bukiyouna (clumsy)," Naruto countered, giving her a bored expression.

"Nani?!"

"Naruto," Hinata reprimanded quietly as Shino watched the scene with indifference.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, this is my niece," the ji-san said, placing a hand on Atsuko's shoulder. "Atsuko."

"N-N-N-N-Niece?!" Naruto said in shock.

"Sou yo," Atsuko said, her rage turning into arrogance. "So you better be nice or I could throw you out!"

"Heh. I'll let you know, bukiyouna," Naruto said, crossing his arms over his chest and an arrogant smile on his face. "You can't throw me out that easily because I am Ichiraku's best-"

Naruto paused as the ji-san cleared his throat and showed Naruto a leaf of his record book consisting of Naruto's debts. Naruto's eyes bulged.

"San-byaku (300) ryou?!"

x x x

Naruto happily opened his mouth as Hinata fed him a piece of roasted pork from his bowl. Atsuko, sitting a couple of stools away from Shino's left, looked at Naruto with a blank look.

"He's such a kid," Atsuko mumbled to herself.

"Oi," Atsuko froze at the sound of Naruto's voice. Naruto looked at her with a suspicious look. "What was that?"

Atsuko closed her eyes and looked the other way. "Iya, nothing," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

Hinata giggled slightly as Naruto dove back into his ramen. She then caught sight of Shino and said, "Ah, sou yo. Congratulations, Shino. I heard from Otou-sama that you were getting married."

"Nani-" Naruto choked on his ramen in surprise. He grabbed the glass of water Hinata was handing over and drowned it in one gulp. "Married? To whom?"

"Mm," Hinata looked up in thought. "Someone named Chou Kairi?"

"Chou...Kairi," Naruto scratched the side of his face as he looked up at the ceiling in thought.

_"Ohayou gozaimasu," Kairi said, bowing as she did._

_"Ah, ohayou, anou..." Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment, a goofy smile in place._

_"Chou Kairi desu," Kairi said, bowing down once more. "Hajimemashite."_

_"Chou," Naruto scratched the side of his face. "Kairi?"_

"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed. He looked at Shino with wide eyes and a shocked expression. "You're marrying that bijin (beauty)?!" Naruto then placed his thumb up and smirked. "Lucky!"

"Naruto," Hinata said softly as she sulked in the corner, a depressed aura drifting over her.

Naruto laughed nervously as he waved his hands frantically. "Ah, iya, Hinata, sono..."

"Hmm," Shino turned to the other side and saw Atsuko looking at him in wonder. "Bijin, ka? Where did you find someone like that?"

"Iya. My parents arranged it for me," was Shino's blunt reply. Atsuko nodded as she was about to turn away then stopped, looking back at Shino with wide eyes.

"EH?! Sonna," she said, standing up from her seat. "That's cruel! Why would they do that?"

"Because," Shino said patiently, pushing his dark glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I asked them to."

Everyone in the stall froze. The noodles which Naruto was about to place in his mouth slipped from his chopsticks as he uttered, "Uso. (No way.)"

x x x

It was a raining when Shino has finished his training for the afternoon. He was walking down the street towards his home without an umbrella or anything to cover him from the downpour.

"Arigato gozaimashita."

Shino stopped as he heard a familiar voice. Upon looking to his left, he saw Atsuko coming out of one of the apartment complex, soaking wet. She ran out as she held an Icihiraku delivery box with both her hands. When she immediately stepped into the rain, she stopped as she saw Shino in front of her.

"Ara," she said in mild shock as she went towards the unmoving shinobi. "It's you."

"Konbanwa. (Good evening.)"

x x x

"And so Okaa-san sent me here to Oji-san so that I could discipline myself," Atsuko said as both she and Shino walked under the rain towards the Ichiraku. "'Atsuko, when will you ever learn to control yourself,' Okaa-san would say. Mattaku. If I wanted to control myself, I would have married a Kage."

Shino stayed silent as he carried the delivery box, listening to Atsuko huff about her family.

"Anou sa," she said, looked at Shino from the corner of her eye. "I'm really sorry for yelling the other day. I didn't mean to be nosy. Demo, hontou ni omedetou (congratulations)."

"Arigato, Atsuko-san," Shino said looking at her as they walked.

"A-hn," Atsuko blushed slightly at his reply. "Demo sa, I still don't understand why anyone would want to have an arranged marriage."

Shino stayed silent as they continued walking. Atsuko, sensing the awkward aura smiled nervously. "A-Ah, demo, there's nothing wrong with it either," she said, laughing nervously.

Atsuko stopped and looked at Shino nervously. Shino walked on, his face expressionless and passive. Atsuko sighed as she ran up but stopped just behind him.

"My parents had an arranged marriage," Shino said, surprising Atsuko. "My grandfather picked the woman who would be a traditional wife and provide the next successor of the clan."

Atsuko looked at the back of his head intently, urging him to go on. When he didn't, she caught up to him until they were walking side by side. "And," she asked.

Shino stayed quiet for a few moments before continuing. "My parents got married without complaint. And since then, they had always been happy," Shino paused. "It had been tradition in our family to have an arranged marriage for the head of the clan but my parents decided to give me a choice."

"Sou ka," Atsuko said, looking up at the pouring sky. "Demo sa, why did you still choose to have an arranged marriage? Don't you want to find the right person for you?"

"I don't trust my own judgment," Shino said. "Only my parents know best what an ideal wife is."

"Demo-"

"It was my choice," Shino said, stopping and looking at Atsuko. Atsuko looked down as Shino walked on. Atsuko looked up and brisk walked until she caught up to him. When she was in reach, she took his hand, causing the shinobi to stop and turn to look at her.

"Gomenasai demo," Atsuko whispered, her bangs covering her expression. "I don't think I can agree with you."

Shino didn't move which encouraged her to go on. "Marriage, iie, being with someone is about being in love. How can you spend the rest of your life with someone you don't love," Atsuko's voice was hoarse as she cried her question out. She looked up at him, into his eyes as she continued.

"How can you push aside something you haven't even tried? Besides, you don't always have to be right. Not the first time. You never know," Atsuko blushed and bowed her head. "She might be right in front of you."

Shino didn't for a few more minutes before he tugged his hand away and walked on, saying nothing. Atsuko sighed and slightly punched herself on the head.

"Is it a left here," Shino asked, stopping at an intersection.

Atsuko looked up. "Hai."

x x x

Atsuko was silent as both Shino and she climbed the steps to her rented apartment door. Only the sound of the thunder and the heavy rain could be heard. Once on top, Shino stopped and looked back, waiting for Atsuko. Atsuko slowly ascended the stairs. Without looking at Shino, she walked down the hall and stopped in front of the second to the last door with Shino following silently behind her. Shino stopped and placed the delivery box down on the floor.

Atsuko slowly faced him. "Arigatou. I'll just bring that back to my uncle tomorrow," she softly said, her face tinted and her eyes glassy. She bowed down as she said, "Ojama itashimashita. (I'm sorry for the disturbance)" And with that, she turned around and proceeded to dig for her keys.

Shino watched her for a few moments before turning to leave. As he was a few steps from the stairs, he heard a thud and turned around to find Atsuko kneeling on the floor, her head on the door and her breathing shallow. Shino rushed to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Atsuko-san."

When he didn't receive a reply, he placed a hand on her forehead then frowned.

Gently, Shino opened the door with the inserted keys, brought the delivery box inside by the door then carefully carried Atsuko inside the apartment, kicking the door closed.

x x x

Shino replaced his dark glasses onto his eyes as he stepped out from the bathroom. He went back into Atsuko's room only to find her sound asleep. He watched as her chest heaved up and down. He stretched a hand to place on her forehead. Feeling intense warmth, he trailed his hand on her cheek to receive the same sensation but it wasn't just on his hand.

Shino retracted his hand and accidentally brushed her hand. The Aburame looked at her face for any signs of wakening. When he found none, his eyes unconsciously trailed back down to her hand.

_Shino carefully soaked the white towel in a bowl of cold water and wrung it out before placing it on Atsuko's scorching forehead._

_He watched her sleep for a few moments before he slowly turned away. As he was walking towards the front door, he felt a tug at his right leg and stopped._

_"Don't go," she whispered with her hoarse voice. "I'm scared of the storm. Onegai, don't leave."_

_Shino looked at her hesitantly. When he felt her hand tighten around his pants when a blast of thunder came, he took her hand and placed it on the bed as he walked away._

_"Abura-"_

_"Stay in bed," he said, stopping for a moment before walking on._

Shino returned from his thoughts when thunder sounded and lightning struck. He looked at her face as Atsuko let out a slight whimper. Her fingers tightened around her blanket as another thunder echoed.

Shino looked blankly at her shivering hand before hesitantly placing his hand over hers for comfort. Immediately, Atsuko unconsciously wrapped her fingers around his.

Shino sighed at this and tried to let go but Atsuko held on firmly. Without a choice, Shino pulled up a chair and watched over Atsuko.

The lightning caught his attention as it split the dark gray sky. Shino watched as the storm raged on outside.

x x x

Kairi held tightly onto her umbrella and closed her eyes as a harsh wind blew. She stepped back under the small width that the roof covered by the entrance door. As the wind stopped, Kairi brought a hand up to tug a strand of hair behind her ear and rubbed her arms as she blew into her hand.

"Kairi-san," a woman's voice said from inside the house. "Come back inside."

"Demo, Shino-sama-"

"Shino is fine," the elderly woman answered. "He'll be back in the morning. Come. You might catch a cold."

"Hai, Aburame-sama," Kairi answered.

She looked up at the gray sky and clutched her umbrella tighter before she went back into the house and closed her umbrella._ Shino-sama..._

* * *

**_Tsuzuku..._**

* * *

**The A.N.B.U. Case Files: Golden Edition**

"Hmm?" Naruto surfaced from his ramen and looked from his right, where Shikamaru was seated, to his left, where Sasuke was seated.

"Nani, dobe," Sasuke said, halfway through eating his ramen.

"Where's Shino?" Naruto asked, now looking behind him, behind the counter and under his bowl.

"Hmm, now that you mentioned it, I haven't seen him around lately either," Shikamaru said, looking around as well.

"Otou-san," Ayame said from the back room. "Have you seen Atsuko-chan?"

"Hmm," the ji-san said, looking up from his dough kneading. "Atsuko-chan? Let's see," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oi, Oi," Naruto said, nudging Shikamaru with his elbow.

"Hm," Shikamaru looked at him lazily, about to take a bite of his ramen.

"Don't you think that it's a bit suspicious that Shino and Atsuko-chan are gone-tte ba yo," Naruto whispered, chiding his mouth behind his hand. "What if they're..."

_An image of Shino and Atsuko dressed in sleeping yukatas and locked in each other's arms..._

_"Shino-sama," Atsuko says, caressing Shino's cheek._

_"Atsuko-chan," Shino says in return, looking her in the eye through his dark glasses._

_"Shino-sama," Atsuko whispers, drawing her face closer to Shino's._

_"Atsuko-chan," Shino goes closer towards Atsuko._

_"Shino-sa-"_

"Baka!" Both Shikamaru and the ji-san said, hitting Naruto on the head with an elbow and a ladle respectively.

"As long as he shows up on missions, he could do whatever he wants," said Sasuke as he put a piece of shrimp into his mouth.

"Oi, don't be such a yarou. What if he's hurt or something?" countered Naruto.

"Daijoubu, he has his bugs with him. He'll be fine," Sasuke answered calmly before continuing to eat his ramen.

"Hmm...Sou ka..."

As Naruto pondered about his teammate's whereabouts, a pair of chopsticks plucked a piece of pork from his bowl. Naruto, upon seeing this, swiftly looks to his right and glares at Shikamaru.

"Oi! What are you doing with my pork, ahou!"

"Hehe," Shikamaru said, holding the piece of pork dangerously close to his mouth. "This is payback for stealing my chicken the other day." Just as he said that, Shikamaru opened his mouth and placed the pork meat inside.

"Sou na! You gave me that piece of chicken!"

"You took the whole thing, baka!"

"Che," Naruto said, sitting back on his stool with his arms crossed over his chest. "Fine."

As Sasuke carefully chewed another shrimp in his mouth, he spotted a pair of chopsticks making their way into his bowl.

_Whack!_

"What do you think your doing touching my food, dobe?!"

"Itai-tte ba yo! Sasuke-teme...Oi! What are you doing?!"

"Hehe. You snooze, you lose, Naruto."

"Nani?!"

_Whack!_

"Get your hands off of my food!"

"Itai! Kono yarou..."

* * *

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

**Translation/Terms:**

**Ari - ant  
daimyo - lord** in the anime, the daimyo is the leader of the country. In this case, the daimyo pertained to here is the leader of the Fire Country.**  
Kuroishida - literally meaning Black Fern** It's a part of the Country of Fire where bandits raid travelers. It's the main road to leave the country. (I just made this up.)  
**Hime - princess; lady** not of a king in this case but a daughter of a feudal lord.  
**Sumimasen - excuse me  
Konohagakure - Hidden Village of Leaf  
Sumimasen - Excuse me  
katana - a samurai sword** Again, if you watch or read Rurouni Kenshin, you'd know what it is.  
**Kage mane no Juutsu - Shadow Imitation Technique** Shikamaru's famous juutsu.  
**Katon Ryuuka no Juutsu - Fire Dragon technique** Apparently, Sasuke has a number of Katon moves (as seen in the second OVA). This is just one of them.  
**Taijutsu - technique not involving much chakra, only the force of the body** This is Rock Lee's specialty.  
**Otou-sama/san - Father** -sama is more formal than -san  
**Dozo - go ahead  
Kawaii - cute  
Yakusokusuru - Promise  
Mattaku - an expression of exasperation  
Kage - The leaders of the five great shinobi villages (i.e. Hokage, Kazekage, Mizukage, etc.)**

Gomenasai! Hontou ni gomenasai!

I am so sorry this chapter took too long. I was very busy (and still am) and I was stuck in a few parts. I also had to change the whole story for Shino because the first one just wasn't interesting enough.

I personally did not like the quality of this chapter. It wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. Shino was unusually talkative in this chapter. I'm sorry about that. I had to do this to create the story.

This is my longest chapter in the history of my story writing. Just so you know.

I'll try to put the next chapter up as soon as possible.

Oh, and do you want me to place the translations beside the Japanese words instead of placing them at the end. I can do that and just have long Japanese phrases in the end instead. Does it disrupt the flow of the story? Feedback please!

I'll try to work on the fourth chapter as fast as I can. I hope you're not bored yet.

Again, hontou ni gomenasai!

**Next up: Naruto!**


	4. Chapter four: Naruto

**A.N.B.U.**

by dreamaker13

_"I never want to lose you. Never."_

* * *

Chapter four: Naruto

* * *

The air was getting cold and the sun was slowly setting in the horizon. Shikamaru quickly led his squad through the forest near the borders of the Country of Fire towards the West Gate of Konohagakure. Naturally, time was of the essence but after five days of traveling from Kirigakure after a mission, Shikamaru just wanted to get back home. And he was sure that his teammates shared the same sentiment. Besides, they had valuable information which needed to reach the Godaime as quickly as possible.

Glancing at the setting sun through the trees, Shikamaru threw a look over his shoulder and quickened the pace. Apart from the information they currently held, his squad had an ongoing situation which they needed to solve before it was too late. Keeping his calm expression, Shikamaru kept a steady pace when he heard his teammates catch up to him.

Sensing Sasuke beside him, Shikamaru asked, "How is he?"

"He's developed a fever and is barely conscious," answered Sasuke. Shikamaru threw another look above his shoulder and sighed. Sasuke watched his captain as he thought. "Nani?"

"Naruto!"

Hearing Shino's urgent cry from behind, both Sasuke and Shikamaru looked back and stopped on the same branch Shino did, supporting their other teammate. "Naruto," Shino called out once more. Naruto was breathing heavily. He then started gritting his teeth and closing his eyes tightly as his hand went up to his left shoulder where a wound he acquired from their recent mission was dressed with bandages. Shikamaru frowned when he saw blood oozing out from the wound and staining the bandages.

"Shikamaru," Sasuke called out, looking up at their captain with an expectant frown. Shikamaru stared at the Uchiha before sighing and answering.

"Alright. Shino, carry Naruto back to the village. Go straight to the hospital." Shino gave a curt nod before slinging Naruto's arm over his shoulder and helping him up. "Sasuke, cover for them. With Shino carrying Naruto, they would have a weak frontal defense and none on the rear. Protect both sides, giving more attention to the rear."

"And you," Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow at their captain.

"I'll alert the medic-nin," Shikamaru answered. "It'll be more efficient if they were ready when you get there. I'll also have a few of them meet you at the gate to help you take him to the hospital and to perform any possible first aid. Saa, ikimashou (Let's go)." And with that, Shikamaru took off ahead of them while Sasuke went further up the canopy.

Just as Shino was about to start jumping forward with Naruto, the blond ninja opened his eyes. Shino noticed this and immediately asked, "Naruto, daijoubu? (Are you alright?)"

"Aa. I've felt worse," Naruto answered with a smug grin on his lips. Hearing this, Shino nodded and they both continued towards the village. "Sasuke to Shikamaru wa? (Where are Sasuke and Shikamaru?)"

"Shikamaru went ahead. Sasuke's covering for us from above," Shino answered briefly.

"Heh," Naruto scoffed as he took in a heavy breath. "Anou teme, he better do his job."

x x x

"Ohayou, Tsumiko-san."

The nurse at the reception looked up from doing her paperwork when she heard her name said. When she saw the familiar face of a pink-haired medic-nin, Tsumiko-san smiled and tossed back a greeting with a cheerful smile. "Good morning to you too, Sakura-san." She took an ink brush and jotted a few things down on a scroll before handing the scroll and brush over to Sakura.

"Tired," Tsumiko-san asked when she noticed Sakura's sigh as she handed back the scroll. Sakura answered with a small smile and the receptionist chuckled demurely. "You'll be alright, Sakura-san. And I'm sure going home to Uchiha-san would make it all worth -- " Tsumiko-san caught herself and stopped before she could say anymore. Rumours about Sakura and the Uchiha were flying around the hospital and now, pretty much everyone in the Konoha Hospital knew of their little argument a few nights back. And judging by Sakura's expression, Tsumiko-san may have been right to assume that the argument didn't end very well.

"How is Shigure-san," Sakura asked, calmly looking at one of the patients' records. Tsumiko-san immediately jumped at an opportunity to change the subject and answered:

"A-Anou, I checked on him this morning. His injuries are healing gradually. We just need to monitor him in case any of his wounds become infected."

Sakura nodded at the information being fed to her as she looked through the rest of Shigure's records. "Arigatou, Tsumi -- "

_BANG!_

The attention of the whole lobby of the Konoha Hospital was directed at the entrance. Shikamaru had burst in through the doors of the hospital. Sakura replaced her look of confusion to a look of worry. Why else would an ANBU captain immediately rush to the hospital after a mission?

"Onegaishimasu (Please) I have a squad member in critical condition. I need two medic-nin and an emergency room ready. The rest of my squad will be coming in through the West gate. Isoide kudasai! (Quickly please!)" At that, Tsumiko and all the other medic-nin rushed on to prepare the necessary facilities. Then, as if noticing Sakura for the first time in the hopsital, Shikamaru exclaimed, "Sakura! Naruto -- "

"Wakatta yo (I understand)," Sakura said, running out of the entrance as she patted her gear. "Let's go." Sakura and Shikamaru rushed towards the West gate together with another medic-nin.

By the time they reached the west gate, Sasuke and Shino were already in sight and Naruto was unconscious and breathing heavily. Immediately, Sakura and the other medic-nin placed Naruto on their make-shift stretcher. Shikamaru and Sasuke carried the stretcher while Sakura and the medic-nin assessed what first aid they could perform but they ended up only attempting to stop him from bleeding. When they finally arrived at the hospital, a mobile bed was readily available and more medic-nin took Naruto off the stretcher and onto the bed.

As they were about to roll Naruto into the emergency room, he suddenly opened his eyes and started convulsing. He was thrashing about and screaming at the top of his lungs in agony. "A-Atsui! Atsui! (Hot!)"

"Calm down, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed as she held his chest down while the other medic-nin held his limbs down. As they wheeled him away into the emergency room, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Shino could do nothing else but wait until the red light above the doors turned off.

x x x

_The captain was the only person who was allowed to speak with the informant. The other squad members were to secure the perimeter and take action if anything went wrong. A meeting place is always set and it would always be a place where the informant would blend in._

_Shikamaru let his sharp eyes wander behind his mask as he hid under the shadow of the tree he stood under. The meeting place was near a small store just outside the gates of the capital of the Country of Wave. They were informed that the informant would be a traveller; no other specifications were given. Shikamaru chose to hide himself completely, keeping a close enough distance for his hushed voice to be heard by the informant. The rest of his squad was nearby but out of sight, ready to intercept if something was obviously amiss._

_Although he didn't show it, Shikamaru was starting to become impatient. The ANBU squad had arrived and placed into position for over an hour. Only a vague timeframe was given to them before they left. They were ordered to be at the shop by noon, nothing more. He had ordered to have any radio device turned off so they had no means of verbal communication with each other; merely a pre-established signal. And so, he didn't have the entertainment of hearing Naruto spout out his incessant nonsense._

_Hearing footsteps coming his way, Shikamaru raised his vigilance and watched as a travelling medicine merchant made his way towards the store. He quietly observed the merchant before he started speaking; remembering the words of Shizune regarding the informant._

"Observe every traveller closely. He should perform a series of mannerisms to indicate that he is with us. First, he will sit on the bench that faces you."

_The merchant disappeared out of Shikamaru's view for a while but when he went back out, the medicine merchant placed his box down and sat on the bench situated on the very end of the store, perpendicular to the tree where Shikamaru was hiding._

"He will then tug at his hakama four times with a two second interval between the third and the fourth."

_Keeping his eyes on the merchant, Shikamaru paid close attention as he raised his hands towards the opening of his hakama and tugged: one, two, three...four._

"He will lower his hat from the front. A chain with a fresh leaf should be around his wrist."

_Moving around to find a comfortable position, he reached up to his straw hat and lowered it over his face; shielding himself from the rays of the noon sun. And very subtly, the sleeve of his hakama lowered slightly revealing a short silver chain with a small green leaf dangling at the edge. He provided only a glimpse as the waitress approached him and served him his tea and sweet dumplings._

_Confirming his observations, Shikamaru leaned his back on the tree and deemed it safe to speak. "Were you followed?" _

_The medicine merchant swiped the front rim of his hat once, indicating a 'no'. Shikamaru neither nodded nor said anything. The informant may not have been aware of it but it was possible that a third party was waiting to strike._

_"Hokage-sama is in need of information on the shinobi Shigure Tetsuya. Do you have it?" _

_The merchant slightly lowered his hat from the front, indicating a 'yes'. Shikamaru didn't speak any further. The informant took his time by sipping at his tea before replying._

_"It's peculiar that you want information on him," said the informant. Shikamaru turned his gaze at him._

_"Why is that?"_

_The informant took a bite off of his dumplings before saying, "Because Shigure Tetsuya is..." A strong wind then blew, muffling the informant's voice. Fortunately, the wind blew towards Shikamaru, allowing him to catch the information._

_Closing his eyes, Shikamaru sighed. "Arigatou." And the informant didn't answer, keeping himself busy with his tea and dumplings._

_Signalling to his squad, Shikamaru disappeared from under the tree with Shino and Sasuke, following after. Naruto was about to do the same when he stopped. From his position, he could clearly see the informant calmly sitting down in front of the shop but a glint in the distance was what caught his attention._

_Shikamaru, Shino and Sasuke were already quite a distance away when they suddenly felt a burst of chakra from their previous location. They stopped and with wide eyes, Shikamaru called out, "Naruto!"_

_Seeing a faint silhouette up ahead, Naruto immediately leapt off of the tree he was perched on and stood behind the informant and threw back a kunai just as a thin long needle rapidly swept past his left shoulder. Automatically reaching behind him to unsheathe another kunai, Naruto kept standing behind the informant until he heard a loud thud from up ahead. Turning around, Naruto glanced at the informant. _

_"Daijou-" Naruto's sentence was cut when a pulse of pain shot through his whole body. Shaking, he brought his hand up to his left shoulder and felt warm liquid oozing out from his ANBU uniform. Another pulse of pain and Naruto found himself on his knees with half of his back covered in a thin film of his blood. His mind was struggling for consciousness._

_Fortunately, his squad members were at his side before he could fall face first into the blood-spattered ground. Shikamaru tsked at Naruto's condition and after seeing Shino supporting Naruto, Shikamaru faced forward._

_"Let's go." And with that, they quickly headed back towards Konohagakure._

x x x

"Oi, is he awake yet?"

"Keep it down, Kiba. Naruto needs his rest."

"Kawaii sou. (Poor thing.)"

"What are you talking about? He's as resilient as a cockroach."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched when he heard Kiba's cockroach comment. He hadn't been awake too long. Possibly, it was Kiba's opening question of whether Naruto was awake or not was what actually woke him up, ironically enough. Since he was already awake, and since he wanted to find out what his friends had been saying about him after that cockroach comment, Naruto opted to keep his eyes closed for a little while longer and listen in on their conversation.

"He's out cold, isn't he," Ino commented as she peered down at Naruto's _supposedly_ sleeping form. "Usually when I get to the hospital, he's either trying to get out of his bindings on the bed or slurping down a bowl of instant ramen like a pig." She made her point imitated Naruto's fashion of eating with an invisible bowl of ramen and equally tangible chopsticks. This just made Naruto's eyebrows twitch again.

"Sou da ne. He's usually making noise right about now. Ah!" Kiba started rummaging through the sack that he brought and brought out a bottle with brownish liquid in it. "Onee-san and I always use it on our patients. Just one swig and he'll be up like his former noisy self."

"A-Ah. Wait a minute, Ki -- " Provided that Kiba and his sister's patients were usually animals. But before Sakura could finish her protest, Kiba was already forcibly opened Naruto's mouth. He had a bit of difficulty since the apparently_ 'sleeping'_ Naruto refused to open his mouth voluntarily. After getting enough leverage, Kiba was able to place a considerable amount of the liquid down Naruto's throat. Immediately after the liquid had entered his mouth, Naruto suddenly got up and sprayed the liquid all over Kiba's face.

"What are you trying to do, you quack, kill me?!"

"It worked, didn't it? Quit complaining, you ungrateful cockroach."

"Nani?! You want a fight, huh, teme?"

"Sumimasen." The commotion stopped when a timid voice rang through the doors to the room. Hinata had just come directly from a mission hence her slightly dusty jounin uniform and her mussed up ponytail. She didn't hear about what happened until she stepped into Konohagakure from the western gate and heard the look outs talking about a blond haired ANBU being taken to the Konoha Hospital. Considering that there was only one blond haired ninja in the ANBU squads and that she was handling a rookie squad thus was only given an easy D-rank mission, it was easy for Hinata to just rush directly to the hospital without qualms about her own well being. She then only had the other problem of finding which room Naruto was in and the nurses seemed busy. Fortunately, Shikamaru was just leaving the hospital and directed her accordingly. "I just came from a mission and I came here as...soon as...I..."

She didn't know if it was because of her previous rush or if it was because of her rapidly beating heart but Hinata felt her breath hitch up her throat when she saw the familiar grin of the person she had always cared for.

"Yo." Naruto grinned when his and Hinata's gazes met. Only he wasn't able to hold the grin for long as a few moments later, Hinata became a sobbing fit on the floor with everyone -- who wasn't bed ridden -- fussing over her.

x x x

After half a box of tissues and a cup of tea later, Hinata was able to reassemble herself. Eventually she calmed down enough to be able to peel an apple for Naruto. Sakura had left earlier on saying that she had to tend to her other patients. Kiba and Ino followed on after for work and personal related reasons; which left her and Naruto all alone in his hospital room a few hours before sunset. As Hinata worked on the apple, Naruto was fending off his boredom by drawing on a sketchbook with some crayons, both which Sakura borrowed from the paediatric ward. She said it was to prevent him from making 'having nothing to do' as an excuse to run off again.

Hinata took a moment to look up from her apple-peeling and saw Naruto vigorously colouring on his sketchbook. Ever since he became a member of the ANBU squad, he had very little time to be childish. Seeing him like this placed a smile on Hinata's lips.

"Hey, Hinata. Look." Naruto held up his sketchbook and showed her his masterpiece.

Hinata was startled speechless for a while since Naruto seemed to be expecting her to name whatever he drew but, at first glance, all she saw was roughly coloured ovals and circles that seemed to have no relation whatsoever with each other. She tried to squint to see if it would make sense but she only figured out what it was when she saw the brown, chequered, half moon shape underneath all the ovals and circles.

"That's an..._interesting_ fruit basket, Naruto," Hinata gave him a smile. She didn't think her comment was impressive so she tried to add on a little detail to it. "Your half-ripe mango almost looks real."

Naruto looked down at his drawing. He resurfaced with a small frown. "That's a bunch of bananas with a stalk."

A thin film of sweat formed on Hinata's forehead as she pressured herself to make another comment. "J-Ja, those plums seem to be accurately drawn."

"Those are grapes, Hinata." Hinata started to panic in front of Naruto's blank stare but after a while, they both hung their head in defeat.

Passing over the moment, Hinata went back to peeling the apple and Naruto to drawing in his sketchbook. Hinata cut the freshly peeled apple up into manageable slices and placed them on a small plate.

"Here you go, Naruto," Hinata said, handing him the plate of apples. She took this time to glance at what he was working on. Various ninja weapons littered the page, ranging from the basic kunai and shuriken to swords and blades on chains. Apparently, Hinata noticed, that Naruto was better at drawing weaponry than fruit.

Naruto accepted the plate graciously, placing the sketchbook to the side. He happily picked a slice of the apple up and took a bite out of it. Noticing how sweet the apple was, Naruto looked up at Hinata to say so. The moment he laid his eyes on her, he froze when he saw her licking her fingers.

Hinata stood up from her seat in search of the remaining half-box of tissues. Completely peeling the apple resulted in apple juice all over her left hand and as time went by, the juice started to dry and become sticky on her palm and fingers. Already getting slightly light-headed from searching the small room and still unable to find the box of tissues, Hinata unconsciously started to lick her fingers to get rid of the stickiness.

"I wonder where it is," Hinata mused to herself as she took one more sweep of the room before going back to her place beside Naruto's bed. Glancing down at Naruto, she sighed when she saw his right hand curled tight into a fist, dripping with apple juice. "Mou, Naruto." She once again started the frustrating search for the tissues. Then, there it was; the box of tissues, right beside the fruit basket. Hitting herself once on the head, Hinata pulled out a number of pieces from the box and proceeded to wipe Naruto's hand before it became as sticky as hers.

"Was the apple not sweet?" Hinata removed the plate from his lap before continuing the clean-up of Naruto's hand. Some areas had already dried and with the lack of anything to clean his hand with, Hinata quickly dabbed the tissue on her tongue before cleaning it off. Seeing this, Naruto's hand that clutched the sheets tightened into a fist. "The apple already had a deep red colour so I was under the impression that it would be --"

Hinata was startled when Naruto suddenly pulled her close and placed his cheek on her abdomen. "Naruto..."

"Be quiet, Hinata," Naruto softly said as he tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer. "Just keep quiet."

With a soft smile, Hinata circled her arms around Naruto's head. They stayed that way long enough for the sun to set.

x x x

_The journey from the Country of Wave to the village was less than four days if they kept to their swift pace. It was already nightfall and they still weren't outside of the borders of the Country of Wave. Shikamaru glanced at Naruto who lay between the roots of a tree they stayed under. Having an injured comrade was a different story. Because of Naruto's condition, they had to take longer stops._

_"He was poisoned," Shino had told him earlier in the evening. He took their stop for the night as an opportunity to examine Naruto. "I tried to have some of my insects suck the poison out of his system but they were unable to. The poison immediately seeped into his blood circulation, stunting his ability to naturally close his wound. My insects can't go that far unless it happened to me. And even if they could, it would only be a very minimal amount." Shino's insects can only help if the poison stayed in Naruto's chakra circulation._

_"How much longer can he pull through," asked Shikamaru after a long pause._

_Shino briefly glanced back at Naruto before answering. "He can go on for less than four days."_

_"Yoshi," Shikamaru said after a moment of consideration. "Get Naruto ready. We'll continue on when Sasuke comes back."_

_Shikamaru snapped out of his thoughts when Sasuke landed in front of him._

_"I'm back," Sasuke plainly stated, removing his mask. Shikamaru nodded for him to continue. "I did as you asked and observed the shinobi which Naruto took down. As expected, he was a shinobi from Kirigakure. Demo..." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's hesitation. "I sensed someone and stepped back to observe them from afar. I expected them to be Kirigakure's ANBU retrieval team but their clothes and weapons looked foreign. Their forehead protectors also had foreign characters on them only they disappeared before I could decipher what it was."_

_Shikamaru stared at his feet in thought. "It could as well be an ally village of Kirigakure but allies don't usually clean up after each other." Sasuke merely kept quiet. Shikamaru sighed and scratched his head. "Ah, mendoukusai na. We'll pass it on to Hokage-sama. Be ready to leave soon." Sasuke nodded, keeping his frown as he watched his captain walk towards Naruto._

_Something seemed to be bothering Sasuke ever since they embraked on this mission. No, ever since Shigure Tetsuya entered the village and it wasn't just about Sakura anymore._

x x x

Gently, Hinata slid open the front door to the Hyuuga Compound. She didn't mean to come back this late. Actually, it wasn't even _very_ late but as she was the eldest child of the current head of the clan, she was expected to have some lessons with her father every night. And in relation to that, she was late.

When she had successfully tiptoed in through the front door; Hinata let out a relieved sigh. She was fortunate that no one had heard her so far and whispered to herself, "Tadaima. (I'm home.)"

"Okaeri. (Welcome back.)"

Hinata gasped and quickly turned around when she heard the familiar deep rumbling voice. "Otou-sama."

And indeed, Hyuuga Hiashi was standing near the front door partially covered in the night's darkness. Neji and Hanabi stood next to him with blank expressions on their faces.

"Hinata," Hyuuga Hiashi said in his familiar commanding tone. "Where have you been?"

Hinata couldn't help but fidget under her father's scrutinizing gaze. She knew that she could never lie to her father. "The hospital," she answered, averting her gaze from her father's face down to the wooden flooring of the house. "I was visiting a friend."

At Hinata's last comment, Neji momentarily closed his eyes and lowered his gaze to the floor. Hiashi kept his gaze on his elder daughter. He didn't change his expression therefore when Hinata looked up to gaze at her father, she didn't know what went on in his mind. This didn't calm her nerves so she just let her gaze fall back onto the floor.

After a while, the present head of the Hyuuga clan closed his eyes and sighed. "Very well," he said, turning around and walking back into the heart of the compound with Hanabi following behind him. He only paused momentarily to glance above his shoulder and call out to Hinata. "Come, Hinata."

"Hai, Otou-sama," Hinata replied in a soft voice as she took off her sandals and moved to follow her father. She was, however, stopped when Neji placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Hinata looked up at her cousin with a questioning look. "Neji-nii..."

"Hinata-sama," Neji said in a low murmur. "You are the eldest daughter of the main family and as a member of the branch family I can only advise you this: remember the things which you are supposed to and are not allowed to do. It would be best for everyone if you kept those things in mind." Neji held her gaze with his own serious expression before walking off.

Oddly enough, Hinata seemed to understand the subtle meanings of her cousin's words and suddenly felt despair cloud her mind.

x x x

A pair of amber eyes slowly opened as consecutive taps were heard from his bedside window. Sitting up, Shigure Tetsuya rubbed his eyes to clear his vision and opened the sliding frame of the window upon seeing a small bird perched on the sill.

"Nanda," he said, getting out of the bed and approaching the window slowly using his crutches. "What is it this time?"

Opening the sliding pane of the window, Shigure picked the small sparrow up; encircling his long fingers around the sparrow's body. "Heh," he smirked. The sparrow chirped in his grasp as his loose hold started to tighten slowly until... "Cute."

Unfazed by the bloodied mess on his palm, Shigure sifted through the feathers and other things until he found a black capsule. He opened the said capsule and gently unrolled the small scroll of paper inserted inside; tainting the paper with crimson fingerprints.

Scanning through the message, a smirk started to appear on his lips; slowly making its way to a menacing grin. "It's almost time."

* * *

**_Tsuzuku..._**

* * *

**The A.N.B.U. Case Files: Golden Edition**

"Oyasuminasai (Good night), Naruto," Hinata said as Naruto saw her out with Ino and Sakura.

"Oyasumi, Hinata," Naruto replied, bending down to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll miss you." And with a blush, Hinata walked on home with the other kunoichi while Naruto waved at her with a wide grin on his face.

Inside his apartment, the other male shinobi were looking through the doorway to the hall with malicious grins on their faces. "Heh"

When Naruto re-entered the room where his friends were drinking their hearts out, he almost jumped when an arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulders.

"So, Naruto," Kiba said, grinning at Naruto as he pulled him closer. "What's up with you and Hinata, huh?"

"Hmm, I don't know," Naruto said innocently. "Rabu-rabu (love-love), I guess."

"Rabu-rabu? What are you, a girl?" Kiba gave Naruto a weird look.

"Ja, you've done ecchi stuff, ne," Chouji piped up with his cheeks tinted pink and steam coming out of his nose.

"Hmm? Ecchi?" Naruto gave Kiba and Chouji a confused frown. "Nani sore? (What's that?)"

"You know, a little bit of _pyon-pyon_," Kiba said, making his hands into soft claws and pressing them against his chest in a repetitive manner. "And some _hua-hua_." Kiba then moved the tips of his fingers; his hands still claws, as if gently squishing something.

"_Pyon-pyon_ and _hua-hua_," Naruto said as he curiously imitated Kiba's actions. "Nani?"

Kiba and Chouji merely hung their heads in defeat.

"Oi, Sasuke," Kiba cried out at the direction of the quiet shinobi. "You've done a lot of ecchi stuff with Sakura, right? Can't you explain some of them to Naruto?"

Sasuke, with pink tinted cheeks, turned away from them with a scoff. "It's none of your business."

"You have at least kissed her, right," Chouji said, at which Naruto nodded.

"Really?" Kiba turned back to them with the same malicious grin. "You use your tongue, ne?"

"Of course not," Naruto chuckled, patting Kiba on the back. "If I did, Hinata's cheek will be all wet."

Kiba and Chouji hung their heads in defeat yet again.

"Usorakontachi," Sasuke muttered to which Shikamaru agreed with.

* * *

**Standard disclaimers apply. I also do not own the idea for the ANBU Case Files Golden Edition title. I got that from Bleach's Shinigami Illustration Picture Book, Golden.**

A/N: Konnichiwa, minna! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry if this chapter is very over due. I had to write and re-write the chapter several times and I had other stuff to do so, yeah. Plus, I almost lost this chapter so...thank God ne?

If anyone noticed, I re-uploaded the previous chapters because I had to change the dividers (can't use dashes anymore) and I had to place the translations beside the Japanese phrases which I used. Also, I decided to give a common title to the little skits I place after each chapter. (If you didn't get the pyon-pyon and hua-hua thing, just PM me or leave me a review. I'll explain it to you in private since I want to keep the rating at T.)

Anyway, I must confess that I've vowed to stop watching Shippuuden. It's just not the same anymore. Now, I've reverted to watching Bleach which, in my opinion, has better humour than Naruto but the fight scenes are more or less the same. I might read the manga of Naruto but that's still pending in my mind. I got the Shippuuden movie though so, I'll keep to that. But just because I've stopped watching Naruto doesn't mean I'll stop writing this fic. I'm just giving you all a heads up in case the characters start becoming out of character a bit. I'll still try though.

Oh, and if anyone is interested, I offer beta-reading services.

See you next chapter.

**14/09/08 –** I revised the chapter, making it longer, adding in a few things. I guess I just got too excited and uploaded the chapter immediately before even considering other things. I promise it will not happen again. Hontou ni gomenasai.

**Next up: The real plot.**


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